Help! Would this be Safe to Feed my Chickens????

[ThornyRidge]

I have various pumpkins that I used to decorate around my house with (I know a couple are pie pumpkins and then other various pumkins/j o'lanterns). Anyway they are needing to be disposed of due to now decorating for Christmas. None of the pumpkins were cut up-they are whole/intact. However due to the extreme temperatures here in NE Ohio they are now squishy to the touch when you pick them up. They have no mold/black or even spots. Very orange but squishy.. Would these be safe to offer to chickens if they even showed interest? I hate to waste them on compost pile if it would be ok for them to pick at if I break/smash them open. advice?

Any other winter treats? I threw some grass hay and alfalfa hay from my goats to them and they seem to be eating that since ground is covered in snow.

 

[digitS']

Waste them by making compost? You can think of it as feeding the compost.

The Halloween Jack o'lanterns used to be the very last things I put on the compost pile for the Winter. Sometimes, they would sit out there a few months and grin at me before being covered by snow and collapsing into mush.

This Halloween - or, 2 days later - I cut up my Jack o'lanterns, peeled, cooked and froze them. Got something like 15 pounds ++ of treats for the chickens this Winter.

We cut up some whole pumpkins and made pumpkin pies and cookies. There's still one whole pumpkin from the garden on the deck. It may not be frozen but if it is, it can go in the compost. I've found them in the Spring in the compost bin just full of red worms - yikes!!

Steve