I found this link on a Poultry list I am a member of, I thought it was quite interesting. Would probably work good for composting entrails after butchering.

http://ag.smsu.edu/compost.htm

-- Mark in N.C. Fla. (deadgoatman@webtv.net), December 23, 2001

Answers

Composting works real well I have done it for several years on a hog and sheep farm I do it on a limestone pad with a solid fence around the outside I get a load of saw dust from the sawmill. You must have about 18" surounding the dead animal. The compost pile will not freeze and will not smell thus not attracting buzzards, dogs or coyotes. I "stir" mine with a skid loader to keep it "working", moist sawdust is needed for it to work right , I have to sprinkle it in a dry summer, the compost pile will need to be hauled to the field when it no longer composts, then start over with a new load of sawdust, straw ,old hay works but not as well. This is a very clean process for getting rid of dead animals. Will work very well for skins and entrails after butchering.

-- (smhamp@yahoo.com), December 23, 2001.

Wow, That WAS really interesting. Thanks for posting, Mark. (Guess you have to be a true homesteader to appreciate some of the stuff on this forum! LOL)

-- Barb (rosemontfarm1@aol.com), December 24, 2001.

I have a friend who has goats. Several years ago she had two very old ones put down in the dead of winter, ground frozen solid. An old timer told her to dismantle a stone wall far enough down to make room for the carcass and build it back up around the carcass, They did this and never had any problems with smell or predators.We are in Central New York, where the winters can go -20 degrees. and most farms have lots of big old stone walls.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), December 24, 2001.

Last year someone on this forum gave the directions for a combustable sugar/fertilizer/fuel, that completely burns carcasses because it generates its own heat, not using the wet from the carcass to burn. My son and husband have played with this along with all the other bombs :) they make on burning day, we do know if we run into a dead animal we need to get rid of we will be trying this. Maybe somebody who can search the archives better than I can will get the exact measurments off the site. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), December 24, 2001.

GEEZ Vicki!!!! I guess I could srape up enough Aluminum dust and oxidized steel to make thermite too, but it's a bit extreme to get rid of the odd carcass. We cremate a few with branches and old fence logs, compost pretty much as was first posted (except we flip it over a few times with a tractor loader) and the second post really sets out the Ontario recomendations for a govt. designed compost site. A farm my size should have one I guess though I don't really lose that many any more. Good culling saves you the trouble!

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), December 24, 2001.

Hi Ross, and Merry Christmas! A chuckle story is my friend in North Texas who lost a doe unexpectedly, the neighbor scooped her up and put her on a brush pile. She wanted this carcass burned and burned quickly since I was due to pick up a buck from her and she wanted to show off her new dairy barn. The doe was still smoldering that weekend when we got there! :) Nothing shows off your place better than that! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), December 25, 2001.