Little Gourds.... to the chickens?

[vfem]

I bought a ton of decorative gourds to fill a bowl on my front porch... now we're redecorated for Christmas and I have a ton of gourds. Should I smash them up and give them to the chickens? I know we don't eat them, but would they still be edible for them? Otherwise out to the compost they go.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Why don't you bust one and see how they react, then let us know? I don't think they will hurt the chickens, but I would not overdo it. The gourds are probably related to pumpkins and pumpkins can have a laxative effect. As reported in a other thread here recently, that is what makes pumpkin a natural wormer. Not that it kills the worms, it just flushes some of them out of the system, thus reducing the worm load. I'll subscribe and watch.

By the way, I put busted birdhouse gourds in my compost heap last spring and some still had not completely composted this fall. They are getting there but I strained several big chunks out. Those things take forever. Maybe if they have not totally dried out when you put them in there???