Are pumpkins & apples okay for Golden Comet chickens

[ttbkremer]

Is it okay to feed our Golden Comet chickens pumpkins and apples? Is there anything that we should not give our chickens?

 

[JennsPeeps]

Any kind of chicken will enjoy either snack, though it takes some individuals longer to figure out that it's edible than it does for others.

 

[LynneP]

Go easy on the amount of any fruit, though, sugar level is high...I feed both, and cabbage, pear, berries, squash, whatever comes from the garden...

 

[Portia]

Chickens usually LOVE pumpkin. It takes mine a week or more to polish one off, but the do eat it; in fact the chicks love it even more. I just crack one open by throwing it up in the air and pull it apart so they can get at it. Fruit is okay in moderation, though mine don't prefer apples.

 

[TurtleChick]

mine LOVE the seeds in any kind of squash (they had pumpkin at halloween and i get free acorn squash pretty frequently at our produce market)... and then they'll eventually eat the flesh, too. i gave them some apple the other day and they were wishy-washy about it. eventually ate it, but not with great enthusiasm. now that i think about it, they don't get really excited about any fruit - they don't like banana, either - take a few bites and then run around wiping their beaks off. they adore broccoli and cabbage - any kind of greens gets them excited.

as far as what not to feed them, there's a great treat chart... is it at the top of the feeding/watering list??? i'll look in a minute. at the bottom are things not to feed.

eta: der, if i'd looked UP i'd have seen it. it's in the "learning center" at the top of any page you're looking at. then you look at the "treat chart".

 

[gretchenhau]

cantalope and watermelon are my comets fav treat. They will do the chickden dance for melon.

 

[Barn Maid Ann]

Quote:
All of my chickens love apples and pears. And grapes.... forget about having any peace at all if they see you with grapes. I tried the cantalope and seeds and they didn't want any part of it - too gooey, I think. Ditto on the banana. Too sticky.
I give them an apple several times a week, cut up. It is gone in seconds. Especially in winter.

 

[LynneP]

Mine can demolish a banana in 10 seconds. I've learned to cut it up and spread it around lest they not stop with banana and go at each other!

 

[Portia]

Mine demolish cantaloupe like they do oatmeal.

 

[nailjack]

I have an apple tree above the coop, and I am sure they ate there fair share. I'd watch them demolish an apple in minutes.