Cremation for goats, sheep and pigs in Ankeny
Losing a named goat, ewe or kunekune hurts, and the paperwork of livestock rules on top of that can feel cold. We explain the options in plain English and can email you local choices.
- Help for backyard flocks and pet pigs
- Heat, bloat and timing advice
- Options that keep your animal's ashes
Ankeny, Iowa
Goats, pigs and backyard flocks in Ankeny
Newly built neighborhoods and old farmsteads sit side by side here, and access can be tricky: a horse on a small acreage may be in a lot hemmed in by fences and young trees. Heavy clay soils also turn soft after spring rain. Before the truck comes, check where it can park, move vehicles out of the way and, if it's safe, bring the body closer to firm ground.
Ankeny itself is suburban, but drive a few minutes north or east and you're in Polk County farmland, with acreages that keep horses, goats, sheep, a few beef cattle or backyard pigs. When one of those animals dies, ask your vet about providers who cover the north side of the metro, and have a clear note of gate codes, lane width and where the animal is lying.
Your local vet in Ankeny is probably the most useful person you can call. Rural vets deal with sheep, goats and pigs every week, know which crematories will take them and often know the collectors by name. Don't be shy about asking what they'd do with their own animal, or whether a neighbor with a tractor and front loader might help move a heavy body to a trailer.
About 77,833 people live in Ankeny, which makes it the 5th-largest of the 27 Iowa communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Des Moines, about 10 miles (16 km) away, which is where some providers serving Ankeny are based.
If you want to compare providers, look at Johnston (7 miles), Altoona (8 miles) and Des Moines (10 miles, a larger centre). Distance matters because pickup fees and the time until the ashes come back both grow with the drive.
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.
To check the figures yourself, see Extension Horses (eXtension national Cooperative Extension) and Embrace Pet Insurance.
Burial, cremation and farm tradition in Iowa
Roughly 63.6%[1] of people in Iowa are cremated today, a big shift from a generation ago. The same shift is showing up on hobby farms: people who once would have buried an old wether in the corner of the field now ask for his ashes back. Providers who take farm species are still fewer than those who take dogs, so the question is usually where, not whether.
We take the Iowa rate from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). It is a human statistic; there is no equivalent pet figure for Ankeny, and we would rather show a real number than invent one.
Weather, bloat and frozen ground in Ankeny
Ankeny winters are cold, with average lows at or below freezing in January, February, March, November and December. Cold gives you more time after a death, but it also freezes the ground, and a grave big enough for a sheep or goat may be impossible to dig until spring. That's one of the main reasons local hobby farmers choose cremation in winter, even when they'd normally bury.
With 5 months of freezing lows in a typical Ankeny year, winter losses are part of keeping stock here. Older goats and sheep, young kids and lambs, and hens with large combs all struggle in hard cold. If an animal dies in a snowbound paddock, the difficult part is often access: can a van reach it, or will you need to sled the body to a plowed drive first?
Cremation, collection and the alternatives: costs in Ankeny
Expect the total in Ankeny to depend on four things: your animal's weight, private or communal, how the animal gets to the crematory and what the ashes come back in. Communal cremation, where nothing is returned, usually costs half or less. If you can deliver the animal yourself, the collection line on the quote may disappear altogether.
Rather than repeat the price table on every city page, we keep one for Iowa: Iowa costs. What each service includes is on the services page.
Free tool
Cremation cost calculator
Estimate a realistic price range for your pet's size, location and the type of cremation.
Burial, composting and reporting rules in Iowa
If you rent your land or keep animals on someone else's property, the landowner's say matters as much as the law. Many tenancies and grazing agreements forbid burial, and a landlord may not want a compost pile either. Cremation needs nobody's permission. Here's the general picture for pets in Iowa; your lease may add conditions of its own.
Not sure which office covers Ankeny? The Iowa local government directory is the official list.
For Iowa's rules on burying a pet at home or scattering ashes, see the Iowa guide. Local rules in Ankeny can be stricter than the state's, especially in homeowners' associations and rentals.
The first day, step by step
- Ask the clinic what happens if you give no instructions. Many send farm species to a renderer or a communal cremation by default.
- Say plainly if the ashes should come home, then have the staff note "private cremation" on the record while you're still there.
- Raise the question of a post-mortem now. It's far easier to arrange while the body is still at the clinic than once it has gone to the crematory.
- Find out who bills you. Some practices add the cremation to their own invoice; others hand you the crematory's number to pay directly.
- Ask for the halter, collar or tag to be kept for you, and a few feathers or a snip of fleece too if you haven't already taken one.
- Plan the evening at home. The others may call out for the animal that hasn't returned with you; a familiar routine and a little extra hay go a long way.
Ways to remember a farm companion
People with hobby livestock near Ankeny usually weigh private cremation, communal cremation and rendering. Rendering usually costs least for a heavy body. Private cremation costs more but returns the ashes, which matters to many families after losing a horse or a goat the children raised. Have every provider list the farm-call fee, the weight charge and the turnaround time before you agree to anything.
go deeper with the guides or catch up on recent articles, Every option Ankeny families choose between is on the services page, or see how other readers answered in our polls, run the numbers with the free planning tools. Close to Ankeny we also cover West Des Moines, Davenport, Sioux City and Iowa City; the full list for Iowa and for the United States is a click away.
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.
Before today, did you know the burial rules for farm species where you live?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
Would you want your animal's own ashes returned?
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If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
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Free tools to help you plan
Cremation cost calculator
Estimate a realistic price range for your pet's size, location and the type of cremation.
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.
Questions people ask
Will I have to travel to Des Moines to arrange things?
Not usually. Providers based in Des Moines (roughly 10 miles from Ankeny) 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.
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Ankeny?
January, February, March, November and December: average lows are below freezing then, and frozen ground makes a home grave slow or impossible until it thaws. The other pressure point is July, when highs around 86°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Ankeny?
The closest communities we cover are Johnston (about 7 miles), Altoona (about 8 miles) and Des Moines (about 10 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Ankeny too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Is cremation common in Iowa?
For people, yes: about 63.6%[1] of Iowa deaths end in cremation, according to NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes the same figure for pets, but in our experience pet choices in Ankeny follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
What's the difference between private, partitioned and communal cremation?
Private means your animal is cremated alone and every bit of ash returned is theirs. Partitioned means several animals share the chamber but are kept apart, so the ashes are mostly, not certainly, your animal's. Communal means animals are cremated together and nothing is returned. For a named goat or pig, ask for private in writing if the ashes matter.
Is it normal to lose goats or sheep every year?
Sadly, yes. The USDA counted about 500,000 head[5] of adult goats and kids dying in the US in 2015, and sheep producers lost 6.8% of their flocks in 2019[6]. Losses come with keeping stock, which is why many smallholders plan aftercare early. Our livestock mortality planner helps you think it through.
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] The average value lost per dead cow or calf in 2015 was about $997. Our estimate: $3.87 billion / 3.88 million head. How we calculate.
- [5] About 500,000 U.S. adult goats and kids died in 2015, equal to 9.8% of the adult goat inventory and 19.4% of kids born; losses were valued at $69.6 million. USDA APHIS NAHMS - Goat and Kid Predator and Nonpredator Death Loss in the United States, 2015, 2015.
- [6] In 2019, 6.8% of U.S. sheep inventory and 12.0% of the lamb crop were lost to death; predators caused 32.6% of sheep losses and 40.1% of lamb losses. USDA APHIS NAHMS - Death Loss Trends in the U.S. Sheep Industry: 1994-2019 (Sheep Death Loss 2020, published June 2022), 2019.
Tell us about your goat, sheep, pig or bird
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.