Pumpkins

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

My DH stopped at place that sells pumpkins in the city where he works. Was talking to the guy managing the place, asked what they did with the pumpkins at the end of their season. He said he threw them away...DH said 'when'...he said first of January.

The fellow asked why he was asking and DH told him wife wanted them for her chickens. They had a long talk about how he did not realize chickens would eat pumpkins and DH enlightened him to the fact chickens eat just about anything.

The fellow got a large bag and filled it with different size pumpkins and GAVE it to my DH and told him that it was an agriculture experiment...to let him know if the chickens ate them, if they did he said he would sell my DH pumpkins for 50cents each!!!

 

[Peeps298]

Boo-Boo's Mama :

My DH stopped at place that sells pumpkins in the city where he works. Was talking to the guy managing the place, asked what they did with the pumpkins at the end of their season. He said he threw them away...DH said 'when'...he said first of January.

The fellow asked why he was asking and DH told him wife wanted them for her chickens. They had a long talk about how he did not realize chickens would eat pumpkins and DH enlightened him to the fact chickens eat just about anything.

The fellow got a large bag and filled it with different size pumpkins and GAVE it to my DH and told him that it was an agriculture experiment...to let him know if the chickens ate them, if they did he said he would sell my DH pumpkins for 50cents each!!!

Thats a great story. How do you give your chickens their pumpkins? Do you cut it up in small pieces, put in whole or slice in half and let them eat out of it like a bowl? I have a few from halloween and want to give to my birds in the next week or two.​

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

Have not given them pumpkin yet but have given them Winter Squash...we just cut them in chucks and let them have at it. On most melons they eat it down to the peel which is so thin you could read a newspaper through it.

 

[Heartlandrabbitry]

Your chickies will be sooo happy!!!

We gave our chickens a pumpkin and they went to town! They were just slurping up those seeds

I just cut ours in two big slices, they didn't seem to mine sharing!

 

[viktoriacl]

Gave mine two of four sections of Holloween pumpkin so far. GONE!

 

[johny]

Mine where not interested in the seeds or guts. Neither whole or ground up in food processor.

But they love the meat.
Cut pumpkin into 5 or 6 big wedges.
Bake at 350F for 40 minutes, otherwise it was too dense for them to pick at.
They leave nothing left but the skins.

 

[featherfooted]

I've not had any problems with my chickens eating raw pumpkin. I just cut it into quarters and place it on the ground. By the next day only the thin rind is left. Meat and guts all gone!

-

 

[lleighmay]

I don't even cut them up- just throw one on the ground so it breaks open (NOTE- do this BEFORE you let them out of the coop so they don't cluster around you and "help"). Mine will eat an entire pumpkin (guts, seeds, rind) in one day, leaving nothing but the stem. They love it. Usually we have extra pumpkins left over at work but we didn't this year. Somebody told me today that Walmart is selling all their leftovers 2/$1 so I will be stopping by there tomorrow after work. If you have a root cellar, unheated basement, or just a spare corner in the garage they will keep for a long time.

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

My DH came in for just a lil bit today to get car title and dropped off the pumpkins for the girls...he cut one in half and the girls have had a field day with it. They have a 50# onion bags of pie pumpkins!

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

my goose pen was full of orange loose poop this morning... gross! but they loved it.