“Ewww! What is that smell?” has been heard all around Central’s campus since early September.

That rancid smell is the product by ten dead and decaying chickens that are hanging in the woods behind E-Pod. Mrs. Cotreau, the forensics science teacher here at Central, is using the dead animals to teach her students how long an animal or person has been dead by giving them a unusual visual experience. The chickens were generously donated from Krista Carson’s father, who works at a local chicken processing plant. Carson’s father and other factory workers get the chickens when they are killed but some are discarded because they are unfit for human consumption.

“I am hoping the students will learn the process of decomposition, what kind of insects are attracted to that animal, and how the weather impacts the insects that feed on this animal,” explained Cotreau.

It is very important to know these processes for forensic investigators to help determine the post-mortem interval, which is the time between death and the time that the body is found.

“I chose chickens because they are small enough to manipulate, but large enough to get results,” shared Cotreau. “We do this once per year when we get to the unit about how to determine how long someone has been dead.”

A student in her class, Desiree’ DeLorenzo, believes the experiment is a beneficial way to learn the steps to figure out how long an animal, or person, has been decomposed.

“When I first heard about this, I had to stop and ask myself why would we be doing this? Although, I now understand the definite reason, which is to give us a open-minded experience on how something is broken down,” explained DeLorenzo.

The smell is horrific and no one would want to touch the chickens, but it teaches students the natural steps that bodies goes through and what kind of insects, such as maggots, will want to feed off of it.

Eventually the chickens will start to decompose and maggots or animals will come to feed on them. The experiment shows students how long it takes and what kinds of animals or insects will feed on the chickens.