Pumpkins from your local farmers

[vermontgal]

Hey folks, rather than going to Sprawl-Wart, why don't you instead go to your local farmers and buy some pumpkins there?

Now that Halloween is over, I am sure you could get a good price, especially if you don't care if you take the pumpkins that are already starting to rot a little bit.

I got free pumpkins from a neighbor who works for a farm advocacy org, because they were left over from their Halloween party. (So wonderful that my neighbor thinks about my chickens! Of course, she'll get some eggs once in a while once they start laying...)

 

[7490jonathan]

Good idea! There are lots of farmers in the area that also grow pumpkins and I bet I will be able to get them at a much cheaper price - I might drive around a bit next weekend. Thanks for the idea!

 

[hollybird]

some chix love pumpkins just be prepared for dark colored yolks. we had some get almost blood red from squash. not harmful just unappealing looking. indian or ornamental corns are often discounted after halloween too.

 

[digitS']

I grew some nice pumpkins this year. As I was carving up a couple for jack-o-lanterns, I noticed how thick the "meat" was. So, I took the jack-o-lanterns back in the house yesterday and cut, peeled, and cooked them for the pullets. Outdoors by our front door has been just like being in the fridge.

Started with the microwave but soon realized that I would be there all morning punching buttons. Pulled out a big steamer and filled it beyond capacity twice! After I'd gotten the cooked pumpkin in sandwich bags (hey, I've only got 4 chickens

), there was 18 pounds of pumpkin meat to put in the freezer - - from 2 jack-o-lanterns - - one with a huge, leering grin and the other with huge, weird eyes!

If I use it at about 10 to 20 percent of their feed . . . I've got enuf for the next 4 months plus.

We've got buttercup squash but the additional good news on the pumpkin-front is that these 2 weren't the only pumpkins I grew this year. Gotta find out what those nice meaty pumpkins taste like to the chicken-keepers

.

Steve