Feeding winter squash to chickens question

[BeccaSmith]

I know I have seen on here that pumpkins stored through the winter in an unheated shed are fine to feed to chickens. I have a butternut squash that I harvested several weeks ago, went to the squash stash for dinner and found it soft with a moldy spot on it, would feeding it to the chickens be the same as feeding fermented pumpkins? It doesn't look so great on the inside either where the seeds are but I really don't see what the difference would be from feeding fermented pumpkins, other then the amount of time the butternut squash has been sittin hasn't been very long and it hasn't gone through the multiple freeze and thaw cycles. I'm hesitant to feed this to my girls and I am just thinking of putting it in the compost bin, what should I do? Feed it or compost it? Also I have several squash that never had the chance to mature, such as a hubbard squash, are these ok to feed as well?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I would not feed anything moldy to chickens or anything else. Most of the time it won't hurt them, but there is the potential it could kill them. Why take a chance when you don't have to? Composting it is a great safe alternative.

Some people may freak when I say it usually won't hurt them, but truly free range chickens scratch, peck, and eat in moldy leaf piles and other moldy things all the time and it very seldom hurts them. There is a big difference in something that can happen and something that absolutely will happen each and every time. But it can hurt them so why take a chance?

The immature ones are find to feed to them. It's really no different from feeding them summer squash or zucchini.

 

[memphis]

My rule has always been not to feed the chickens anything I couldn't eat. If its to spoiled for me I won't feed it to them.

 

[BeccaSmith]

Well I know that fermented pumpkins are ok to feed to them so I was thinking that the same rule would apply to this butternut squash. I do like that rule though, if it isn't fit for me then don't feed it to them!