Dead stock, show animals and cremation in Clive
Whether it's a feedlot loss, a ewe in lambing season or a 4-H steer your family raised, this page explains the realistic options in Clive and how to get a written price.
- Costs per head for every route
- Burial and composting rules in plain English
- Private cremation for show and family animals
Clive, Iowa
Livestock aftercare in Clive: the local picture
Clive itself is suburban, with few large animals inside the city. Head a short way west into Dallas County, though, and acreages with horses, goats, a few beef steers or 4-H sheep become common. Owners out there should know that collecting a large body depends on truck access and a winch, so describe your gate width and ground conditions when you ask for quotes.
Families around the western metro who show livestock at county fairs or ride at nearby stables sometimes want a private cremation so the ashes can come home. That option exists for large animals but costs far more than for a household pet, and not every provider can handle a full-size horse or cow. Request a written quote that itemizes transport, the cremation itself and delivery of the ashes.
Your local large-animal vet near Clive is often the best first call when a death is sudden or unexplained. Several animals down at once, bleeding, odd behavior before death or a spike in losses in poultry are reasons to hold the carcass for a vet check before anyone moves it. A lab result can protect the rest of the herd, and some diseases have to be reported before disposal.
Clive is home to about 19,861 people, the 27th-largest of the 27 Iowa communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Des Moines, about 9 miles (15 km) away, which is where some providers serving Clive are based.
Our pages for Urbandale (2 miles, a larger centre), West Des Moines (4 miles, a larger centre) and Waukee (5 miles) describe the same choices from those towns' point of view, and the providers overlap, so a quote from one often covers Clive as well.
63.6%[1]
The NFDA projected Iowa's cremation rate at 63.6% for 2024.
$600-$1,000[2]
Cremating a 1,000-pound horse was reported to cost about $600-$1,000, depending on location and the price of propane.
3-5% of body weight[3]
Embrace notes cremated remains typically weigh about 3-5% of the pet's original body weight.
If a number here surprises you, the primary material is Extension Horses (eXtension national Cooperative Extension) and Embrace Pet Insurance; we only apply it to this.
Cremation habits in Iowa, and what they mean on the farm
About 63.6%[1] of people in Iowa are cremated, a figure that has been climbing for years while burial still has deep roots. You'll see both traditions on farms too. Some families bury a favorite cow at the edge of the pasture where she grazed; others choose cremation so the ashes can move with them. For production animals, the choice usually comes down to cost, soil and what the renderer will take.
That Iowa rate is a human one, published by NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). We quote it for Clive only as a pointer to how families here already think about cremation.
Heat, cold and timing for livestock losses in Clive
Losses in a Clive winter often happen overnight in the calving or lambing barn, and a newborn that dies in January can freeze solid by morning. Small carcasses like these are easy to hold in a closed, lidded bin until collection day, where your rules allow it. Record each one against the dam's number: a run of losses in one pen can point to cold, colostrum or disease problems your vet will want to hear about.
In a Clive winter, a storm can cause several losses at once. Check your renderer's policy on frozen carcasses and after-storm backlogs, and ask your extension office whether temporary holding is allowed while you wait. Keeping carcasses covered and away from the herd matters even in the cold, because dogs, coyotes and birds will still find them.
Comparing the cost of each route in Clive
For one large animal, the gap between routes is wide. By our estimate, composting instead of cremating saves roughly $525[4] at midpoint prices for an animal the size of a horse, which is close to a mature cow. That doesn't make composting right for a show steer the family wants back, but for routine losses around Clive it's a real saving. USDA's disposal methods handout explains the cover material and pile temperatures involved.
For a line-by-line price table, see the Iowa overview; for what's included in each option, see our services.
Free tool
Livestock mortality planner
Plan disposal capacity and costs for farm losses, from one animal to a herd.
Burial, composting and deadlines in Iowa
A useful habit for anyone keeping livestock in Iowa: look up the disposal rules once, on a calm day, and write the key numbers on the barn wall. Deadline in hours, minimum burial depth, well setback, and whether composting is allowed for your species. When a loss happens at night or in a storm, you won't be searching for them on a phone.
Iowa keeps an official directory of local governments; use it to reach the county or city office that covers Clive.
Ask two questions before anything else in Clive: how long does Iowa give you, and what does it allow? The answer to the first is usually 24-72 hours[6], set by the state agriculture department or animal health board. The answer to the second depends on species and on whether a renderer still serves the area, which is true in only about 50%[7] of states. Composting, burial and cremation cover the rest, within whatever limits the state sets.
The Iowa page sets out who oversees pet cremation and what the state says about burial and scattering. Clive's own bylaws can sit on top of that, so ask before you dig.
Jobs in the right order after a loss near Clive
- Check the animal is dead and look around for hazards, a running loader, an unsettled herd, a drop-off, before anyone goes close.
- Photograph the scene if the death was unusual, and note the weather, feed and water, in case your vet or insurer asks later.
- Separate the carcass from live animals and from water, then put a cover over it so dogs and birds can't reach it.
- Look up your deadline for getting the animal dealt with and work back from it; hot weather makes it tighter.
- Book the route that fits: a renderer's pickup, a compost pile, a legal burial site or a crematory for a show or family animal.
- Clean up and disinfect the boots and any machinery that touched the carcass before you return to the herd.
Marking the loss, on the farm or in town
Central Iowa springs can be wet and muddy, and winters leave pastures frozen solid for months. Both conditions affect how a heavy animal is moved. A frozen field may actually be easier for a truck than a soggy one in April. When a death happens in a barn during a hard freeze, you often have more time; in July heat, the window shrinks to hours.
Every option Clive families choose between is on the services page, use the free tools before you ring anyone, the guides answer the longer questions and the blog the newer ones, or see what other families chose in the poll results. More local pages: Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Sioux City and Des Moines, the Iowa overview and every city in the United States.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
Vote anonymously and see how other readers answered. The results are live counts from people who visit this site, so they show real opinions, not a scientific sample.
What feels like a fair price to deal with one dead adult cow?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Do you have a written plan for a big loss, like a blizzard, heat wave or disease outbreak?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
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Free tools to help you plan
Livestock mortality planner
Plan disposal capacity and costs for farm losses, from one animal to a herd.
Urn size calculator
Find the urn volume you need from your pet's weight, plus keepsake and sharing options.
Horse aftercare cost comparison
Compare equine cremation, burial, rendering and composting side by side.
Questions people ask
How does Clive's weather affect animal aftercare?
July is the hottest month in Clive, with average highs around 86°F, so prompt collection matters most then. Average lows drop below freezing in January, February, March, November and December, which can make digging a grave hard until spring.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Clive?
The closest communities we cover are Urbandale (about 2 miles), West Des Moines (about 4 miles) and Waukee (about 5 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Clive too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Will I have to travel to Des Moines to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Des Moines (roughly 9 miles from Clive) collect from here as a matter of routine, and the paperwork is done by email or phone. If you want to be present for a witnessed cremation, that is when the drive matters.
Why does the Clive page quote a human cremation rate?
Because it is the best local signal we have. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024) reports about 63.6%[1] of Iowa residents are cremated. There is no official pet equivalent, and inventing one would be worse than quoting a real, clearly labelled number.
Do burial rules apply to one show animal the same as a herd?
Generally yes. Depth, cover and setbacks from wells and water apply to each burial site whether the animal was a pet or production stock. Density limits, like caps on animals per acre, matter more for larger losses. If you want something more personal than a pit, a private cremation avoids site rules and lets the ashes stay with the family.
What happens to animals that die of bird flu?
Animal health officials take the lead once bird flu is confirmed, and the method is chosen to stop the virus spreading. In the 2014 to 2015 US outbreak, about 85%[8] of poultry carcasses were composted, often on the farm where they died. USDA audits after detections most often asked farms to fix how dead birds were handled.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] The NFDA projected Iowa's cremation rate at 63.6% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [2] Cremating a 1,000-pound horse was reported to cost about $600-$1,000, depending on location and the price of propane. Extension Horses (eXtension national Cooperative Extension) - Horse Disposal Options, 2019, 2019.
- [3] Embrace notes cremated remains typically weigh about 3-5% of the pet's original body weight. Embrace Pet Insurance - Bury or Cremate Your Dog? Costs, Pros & Cons, 2025.
- [4] Choosing on-farm composting instead of cremation saves a horse owner roughly $525 at midpoint prices (2012-2019 extension figures, not inflation-adjusted). Our estimate: $800 cremation midpoint - $275 composting midpoint. How we calculate.
- [5] About 10,630 U.S. cattle and calves died every day in 2015. Our estimate: 3,880,000 / 365. How we calculate.
- [6] State rules commonly require dead animals to be buried within 24 to 72 hours of death, especially when euthanized. Cornell Waste Management Institute & Penn State - Horse Mortality: Carcass Disposal Alternatives (2012), 2012.
- [7] Only about 50% of U.S. states have rendering plants, most of them concentrated in the Midwest. Extension Horses (eXtension national Cooperative Extension) - Horse Disposal Options, 2019, 2019.
- [8] Composting was used for 85% of poultry carcasses in the 2014-2015 U.S. HPAI outbreak; EPA lists composting and permitted landfills as the preferred disposal methods. U.S. EPA - Carcass Management During Avian Influenza Outbreaks, 2015.
Ask about a show animal's cremation
Tell us what you need and where you are. We'll reply by email with clear options and prices so you can decide in your own time.