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[Sroge]

I have a refuse pile with multiple duck corpses (Although they're probably rotten now, they weren't when the hunter brought them), nothing is forbidden, but whenever the hunter drags in a kill to the butcher's shop and queues up a butcher command, I get an error message, saying the butcher command has been cancelled because he needs a non-rotten corpse near by.

Does anyone know what might be causing this? I'm wasting dead wild ducks as we speak.

[Spish]

Is there, by any chance, something in the central square of the butcher's shop? I had to deal with a blacksmith refusing to work over an apparent (but not really) lack of charcoal, and eventually found out it was because a strange mood'd dwarf dropped forbidden metals on top of the forge.

[Sroge]

Nope, that's not it. I even tried moving it before, along with the refuse pile.

[AllThingsLive]

Hmm, corpses rot really quickly, so all that I can really think of is that your butcher(s) are busy with something else so that when they get around to butchering the corpse is already rotten. Or maybe ducks can't be butchered, in my current fortress honey badgers keep attacking my civilians, only to get their domes smashed by my hammer lords, yet my butchers won't butcher them. I think it's because their too small (Which is funny, because they have no issue with butchering a 5,000⌠ elephant)

[Spish]

Well, there's the alternative: capture the ducks with cleverly placed cage traps and tame them. Then have them butchered alive.

[AllThingsLive]

Well, there's the alternative: capture the ducks with cleverly placed cage traps and tame them. Then have them butchered alive.

Oooh, now there's the dwarven ingenuity we've all come to know and love!

[Sroge]

Yup, I just confirmed with the wiki, ducks are too small to be butchered. The good news is, my hunter has succeeded in wiping out the local duck population, and all that're left are capybaras, which can be butchered. Thanks for the help everyone.

One more question however, how can I keep my butcher's shop from getting really cluttered really fast? This has been a problem for me in the past, and I'm not sure what to do about it...

[AllThingsLive]

Make another, possibly 2 more. And keep them outside if you can, because it's very possible that a few pieces of meat may get ignored and rot if your haulers are busy with other stuff.

[Tiruin]

One more question however, how can I keep my butcher's shop from getting really cluttered really fast? This has been a problem for me in the past, and I'm not sure what to do about it...

There lives a bug that, when putting ANY animal that will not generate only a skull in the Butcher's shop, will turn it into the highest level of clutter because of all the material in it (bones/skin/tissue/hands/feet/skull) the game currently sees this as individual items, not like what you or I see.

[lcy03406]

Duck can be butchered. It's small and produces little meat, but can be butchered, producing a skull at least.
I think hunters won't attack any creature that can't be butchered.
Is it possible that another dwarf is hauling the corpse to the stockpile while your butcher start working? Have you ever tried to manually queue a butcher command in the butcher's shop, after the corpse has been put into the stockpile?

[lcy03406]

And I would say clutter is not a problem. Butchering an animal is always faster than cooking so many organs, and always faster than hunting.
Traps in a good place can catch a horde as they passing by. In this case you can use cage traps (not stone or weapon traps) to keep them alive until you kill and butcher them.

[Nan]

One more question however, how can I keep my butcher's shop from getting really cluttered really fast? This has been a problem for me in the past, and I'm not sure what to do about it...

It's because a big corpse - or a part of a big corpse (ie a foot - there's a bug where a foot of an elephant is considered as large as an elephant), is large enough to clutter the butcher shop by itself. There's nothing you can do about this, and it might not even be regarded a bug, it should take much longer to butcher an elephant than a rabbit. It doesn't matter because you get heaps of meat from large corpses, it makes up for the longer time.
But it does mean you need multiple butchers to process a bunch of large dead animals.

[Lexx]

I also agree its good to have the butcher skill active on alot of normally inactive dwarves. Along with several spare butchers shops. It helps combat the clutter and meet demand of corpses needing processed.

[LoSboccacc]

and plenty of spare refuse/food piles to take stuff out of the butcher shop.

also, if the shop is outside, remember the 'gather refuse from outside' flag to prevent too much cluttering.

if shops are inside, far below, chance is that the animal rots in transit.

[Lexx]

and plenty of spare refuse/food piles to take stuff out of the butcher shop.

also, if the shop is outside, remember the 'gather refuse from outside' flag to prevent too much cluttering.

if shops are inside, far below, chance is that the animal rots in transit.

This is great advice. If you have any decent scale of butchering industry in your fort your going to need multiple large food and refuse stockpiles strategically placed to minimize chances of rotting carcasses/food and removing waste.