Burial Guidelines for Dead Pigeons

General

• Bury birds on the land where they were originally housed
• Do not bury on coarse gravel or organic soils, or in areas prone to flooding
• Do not bury more than 2500 kg/burial pit; this is 6,100 pigeons at 0.41 kg (0.9 lbs)

Setbacks

Every part of the burial pit should be at least:

• 2 m from the lowest point of the pit to the uppermost identified bedrock or aquifer
• 50 m from a drilled well; 100 m from other wells; 250 m from a municipal well
• 100 m via flowpath to the top of the bank of the nearest surface water or tile inlet
• 100 m from livestock housing facilities and residential structures on neighbouring land
• 15 m from lot lines; 30 m from a highway
• 60 m from any other burial pit on the same property
• 15 m from any field drainage tile

After burial

• Dead birds should be covered by at least 0.6 m of soil at all times
• If the burial pit shows signs of scavenging, cover birds with more soil to prevent further scavenging
• When closing the pit, use enough soil to form a mound higher than the original level of the ground by the greater of; half the depth of the burial pit, or 0.6 m

Tips

• Try not to dig burial pits any deeper than 1.2 m (4 feet) for safety reasons
• Long, narrow trenches dug with a standard backhoe width 0.6 m (2 feet) are preferred
• 0.6 m wide x 1.2 m deep x 9 m long (2 feet x 4 feet x 30 feet) trench should hold up to 2500 kg (5500 lbs) of dead birds allowing for soil to cover and mound over the pit
• Spoil from the pit should be placed as far as practical back from the trench, but never less than 1 m (3 feet) to help prevent a surcharge of weight on the trench sides which could make them unstable and cause a cave-in
• Push soil backfill in, rather than dumping it in, to reduce the chance of cave-in
• Where practical, place soil in the cavities between carcasses to encourage decomposition
• Pick areas of the farm to bury that are out of sight of neighbours, or roads
• Never jump into the hole under any circumstances for safety reasons