Not butchering

[Black Ram]

Once in a while, one of my livestock gets lost and starves to death in my fortress (not outside), I have "automatically butcher carcasses" on, but it never get butchered, it just lies there rotting.

[Esca]

From what I can tell, dwarves often refuse to butcher corpses for meat unless it was actually
killed by a butcher or hunter. Combat-mangled corpses in particular, but I think dying of old age/etc might make them unusable too? Someone should still haul the bodies to your corpse stockpile if you have one, though.

[Fel]

There are only three cases where butchering can trigger (auto or manual doesn't change these rules either).

First is flagging a tamed animal for butchering, the butcher will lead the animal to the workshop and butcher it there.

Second is hunters coming back with a prey they hunted (via the hunting task, not military killing).

Third is when an animal that died any other way and is not sentient was reduced to a skeleton (in that case you only get bones and such, no meat, fat or skin).

[DoubleG]

If your refuse and corpse stockpile is near your butcher shop they SHOULD automatically butcher any dead animal dumped in it. There's a certain distance they'll go to grab a corspe for butchering but if you have your dwarfs gather refuse and move it near them that should work.

[harlequin_corps]

Originally posted by Fel:

Third is when an animal that died any other way and is not sentient was reduced to a skeleton (in that case you only get bones and such, no meat, fat or skin).

I don't know if this is accurate, but I can't disprove it. What I do know, is if your soldiers or ballista or traps kill an animal, and the animal is dead within 48 blocks of a butchers, then the butcher animal task, depending on the standing orders setting, will auto queue and the animal will be butchered. What I do know about that is my dorfs will make meals made of animals killed in this fashion. So maybe I'm misreading your information.
I have the habit of putting butchers next to the refuse stockpile, the ballista kill rooms and the trap corridors/kill boxes and I do know meat somehow gets increased (The number up top) every time I mass kill a group of things.

[Black Ram]

Thanks for the responses, many of the animals die not too far from my butcher shop and said butcher shop has a stockpile right next to it that accepts corpses (as the only one), and when I look through the labor options there should not be any problems, unless of course the "they don't butcher animals that haven't died from being maked for slaughter or hunted" is the problem.
I personally wish for a button on corpses that says "dissect NOW", like metal stuff has the "mark for smelting" button.
(Also an "haul to stockpile", not just "move to garbage", but to forcefully say "take this item to a stockpile that accepts it").

[AlP]

Tame animals that died, cannot be butchered. They have to be slaughtered while still alive.

Any other animal can be butchered.

[harlequin_corps]

Originally posted by AlP:

Tame animals that died, cannot be butchered. They have to be slaughtered while still alive.

Any other animal can be butchered.

Because they are buryia.. buryia.. ber.. Buriable. Remains to go into tomb.. Man.. this game. Speaking of which.. What's the difference between corpses and corpses. Just had my dorfs put one of my deadites into a refuse/corpse stockpile. haven't had that happen before. Thought citizen remains were considered different than corpses.

[Fel]

I think only "pets" are burriable, as in animals that were adopted by someone (or cats that adopted someone).

My bad for the innacuracy about wild animals.

[nrusselluk]

for example, if you have a war dog die, the corpse won't be butcherable. IF you toggle it to be butchered just before it dies, they will butcher the corpse. (Task has been generated - obviously rules to pets belonging to Dwarfs still applies)

[harlequin_corps]

Originally posted by Fel:

I think only "pets" are burriable, as in animals that were adopted by someone (or cats that adopted someone).

My bad for the innacuracy about wild animals.

Again. I don't know what's accurate but, I am taming some hydra's. They don't have a specified trainer but I did specialize about 5 trainers.. You can't tame hydra's but you CAN train them.. they play with their food. It's cute, in a blood splattery kind of way, and have LOTS of babies.. Anyway, I can slaughter one of them and they come up as an option for a tomb. they aren't pets so.

[AlP]

Originally posted by harlequin_corps:

What's the difference between corpses and corpses. Just had my dorfs put one of my deadites into a refuse/corpse stockpile. haven't had that happen before. Thought citizen remains were considered different than corpses.

Was the deadite sentient or a pet?