Alabama NRCS Responds to
Catastrophic Loss of Chickens
On
Thursday, September 1, 2005,
the Washington County, Alabama, NRCS office responded to a request from the
Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries for assistance in
identifying a site to dispose of a large quantity of dead chickens related to Hurricane
Katrina. The chickens succumbed to the heat in two chicken houses when the
generator that would have closed the curtains on the two chicken houses was in
use elsewhere during this emergency situation. The original estimate was
15,000 dead birds weighing about 6 pounds each, or roughly 45 tons. The
actual count was closer to 5,000 chickens or 15 tons. These birds needed to
be buried prior to rapid decomposition in 90+ degree heat.
The NRCS
employees arrived on the farm around 10:30
a.m. A backhoe pit had been started on an area adjacent to the
chicken houses. Local soil scientists determined that the soil was very deep,
well drained sandy clay loam with no hint of a saturated zone or drainage
mottles at 8 to 10 feet in depth. The NRCS employees measured a 300 foot
setback from a water well, and a four foot wide trench was started with a
backhoe operated by a neighbor.
The
dead birds were piled in the middle of the chicken house, counted, and placed
in the loader of a tractor and a Bobcat loader. A layer of chickens was laid
in the trench, and a layer of dirt was applied. For the first couple of
hours, the NRCS employees shoveled the dirt layers over the chickens. The
district conservationist enlisted help from the Washington County Commission
and a large track hoe was dispatched to the site to aid with the burial. The
last layer of chickens was covered with 2 to 3 feet of soil. NRCS employees
worked until 4 o’clock in the afternoon without a break for
lunch to get the job done.
Because
of the rapid response of these NRCS employees, local officials, and personnel
from other government agencies, these dead birds were disposed of in a manner
that would not endanger the health of those in the community.
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