pumpkins??

[eastercreek]

We purchased a lot of pumpkins this year for decorative purposes...my son has made one into a jack-o-lantern...and we roasted the seeds for ourselves. If we open up the rest of the pumpkins...would the chickens be interested in the pumpkin guts and seeds? Has anyone fed pumpkin to their chickens? I will probably just throw them out but I am trying to get in the habit of considering all scraps possible chicken treats before I dispose of them!

 

[magicpigeon]

It's worth a shot, mine eat everything... xD

 

[Chemguy]

Yes, go ahead. Some say that they prevent worms, and that might be true. My chicks love pecking away at the seeds and guts. They don't eat the flesh, though. Which is funny, because they only leave a papery skin behind when they get squashes.

 

[dirtsaver]

Chickens go crazy over pumpkins! We cut the pumpkins into sections and stand back! Seeds and orange stuff goes flying like mad! Ours like them so well I put in a pumpkin patch just for the girls.

 

[real_redhead]

Mine got the pumpkin that I made soup in last night, at first they weren't sure about it but when I got home from work there was barely any left!!

 

[DanyyChicken]

It's okay raw... The guts seem so stringy... They don't cause any problems with their crops?

 

[dirtsaver]

Quote:
We did not see any problems at all with raw pumpkins Danyy. Our girls must have gone through about 15-20 of them last year(that's a flock of around 12 girls).

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I always bring home the bruised & cracked pumpkins from my church's pumpkin patch. Each morning I'll slice a few open with a shovel and put a few pieces in each chicken pen. They love to peck away at the flesh, pick at the seeds & the strings. Sometimes they'll pick away at it until it's just a thin skin.

Some chickens, or groups of chickens, seem to like pumpkin more than others. My chickens seem to get inspired to try a new food if they see others eating it. Often I'll place the pumpkin pieces along the fences dividing different pens. When they see other chickens in the next pen eating pumpkin, they'll eat it too.

 

[Easter eggers]

I did today

 

[KDK1]

Pumkin seeds are the only treat my chickens will actually attack you for. I can't let the grandkids go in the run by themselves when they have pumkin seeds in their hands. Not that they mean to hurt them but will take the seeds away from you!