White pumpkins are their favorites!

[Sunny Side Up]

Each year I get the scratch 'n' dent pumpkins from my church's pumpkin patch to bring home and feed to my chickens. This year there were some new varieties delivered, some white, yellow-white and multi-colored. These all have pale-colored flesh and for some reason my chickens LOVE them best!

I try to put out just enough so they'll finish the portion before nightfall. Often they'll leave some flesh on the orange pumpkins, but the pale-fleshed ones always get pecked down to the absolute rind.

I met another lady at the pumpkin patch who also gets bumped pumpkins for her chickens and she said the same was true for her flock. I wonder why that is? Do chickens have much of a sense of taste? Or are they attracted to the color of these pumpkins? Which would seem odd, you'd think they'd prefer the dark orange-fleshed pumpkins.

 

[Tala]

Heh. Mine barely touched the white pumpkin that I gave them. They even left some of the seeds!!!

They much prefer cantelopes and watermelon, fall produce just doesn't seem to float their boat. lol

On the other hand, my yard is practically covered in watermelon sprouts from feeding it in the tractor as I moved it around the yard. Too bad it won't survive the winter & mowing. We grew one in my old compost pile purely on "accident" last year. Apparently neglect is good for watermelon growing, because we found it when we finally got around to weed-eating the mess.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Isn't it interesting how some chickens adore certain foods that others won't touch? I think it's a matter of familiarity with it. I know it helps if they were raised with a mama hen who introduced them to many different types of food.

It seems they're also influenced by seeing other chickens eating something, then they'll try it too. Often if I'm introducing a new type of food I'll put it by the fences between the pens. If they see their neighbors eating something they will want to try it too.