Chickens for bug control and food recycling.

[Beekissed]

Well...I scrounged for old pumpkins today and came home with 12 large pumpkins in various stages of over the hill and also 4 large watermelons that I assume are far gone as well. Stopped at a farmer's market and just asked for any rotten pumpkins they wouldn't be able to sell and that's what I came home with.

I placed those on a length of cattle panel afixed with deer netting, up on my lumber rack. They are under an overhang there with air below and above, so they should freeze, thaw, ferment nicely there. Some were so bad they had to be fed right away but most were still able to be stored for feeding later.

Two of them I'll be getting seed from for planting in the spring. One is called a "red warty thing" pumpkin...

....and the other is a just large Howden.

I usually plant Rouge Vif D'etamps because I love their shape, color and size. I've not tasted them yet but they say they make an excellent pie pumpkin. I have a couple of those for seeds.

I've found that the chickens don't really eat them much when they are fresh and the skin/rind is very thick, but they will eat them like sharks at a feeding frenzy if I let them freeze, thaw, ferment, etc. This lets them lose excess fluid, converts the starch to sugar and also makes the skin very thin and able to tear. Sheep love them this way as well.

Great winter feed and the seeds are a natural anthelmintic, so it's win/win. And FREE.

 

[ninnymary]

Last evening I went leaf collecting. My husband had told me about a pile he had seen. Got 4 big bags! The owner came out and I told him what I was doing with the leaves. He said he had chickens too! He has them in the front yard with hay on the ground for them. His entire front yard is surrounded by tall bushes so you don't even know they are there. The 6 buff orpingtons were roosting on the step rail. He said he leaves his front door open just a little and that his dog barks when a raccoon is near. He also has a motion detector light. Under 1 hen, he showed me 2 older chicks that he had purchased when she went broody. He said he has trained them to not jump out of the 4' fence. He has no nest boxes and just looks for the eggs all over the yard. I was totally amazed at his system. Said he'd been keeping chickens for about 15 years with no problem.

Mary

 

[Beekissed]

Wonder why in the world he'd give leaves away, could have used them in his chicken yard instead of hay.

Neat to get leaves one doesn't have to rake, isn't it? I especially liked the ones that were already mulched/reduced by the leaf blower, as one can fit more in the bag that way.

 

[baymule]

@ninnymary I am so glad that you have come over to the chicken composters club! You will be so glad that you let your hens do the work for you!

 

[baymule]

Bee, by ferment, do you mean rotten? Rotten is what I'd get if I left pumpkins out all winter. We don't get a lot of freezes. Pumpkins would go bad pretty quick around here.

 

[ninnymary]

@ninnymary I am so glad that you have come over to the chicken composters club! You will be so glad that you let your hens do the work for you!

Bay, it seems that I get a lot of poop from 6 chickens to continually add to the coop floor. Is it possible to have to much poop?

So far I'm loving it!

Mary

 

[baymule]

Nooooooo!!!!! you can never have too much chicken poop!

 

[Nyboy]

Nooooooo!!!!! you can never have too much chicken poop!

words only a gardener would say !!!

 

[ninnymary]

Bee, by ferment, do you mean rotten? Rotten is what I'd get if I left pumpkins out all winter. We don't get a lot of freezes. Pumpkins would go bad pretty quick around here.

I'd like to know too! We don't get a lot of freezes either.

Mary

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, by ferment, do you mean rotten? Rotten is what I'd get if I left pumpkins out all winter. We don't get a lot of freezes. Pumpkins would go bad pretty quick around here.

Yep...any kind of fruit or veg usually ferments as it breaks down~what most folks call rot. Hence the sour, rank smell. They don't actually go bad, just change...the starches convert to sugars and chickens go wild for them when they get that bad. It causes the meat to grow soft and the skin to thin out and become more tender so they can eat the whole thing. They'll usually only leave the stem and bottom brown thingy and flesh attached to it, but can eat the whole thing.

The only reason I mention the freezing is that the process of freezing and thawing seems to allow a serous looking syrupy fluid to flow from the pumpkin, leaving the mushy pulp and meat behind...maybe the freezing and thawing really has nothing to do with it all, but is merely how I came to discover how much they love the fermented pumpkins more than the fresh. Sort of looks like a collapsed pumpkin colored sponge when it's all done and they will eat it all...sounds like little ripping sounds when they strip the skin as they eat.

For you all that don't get a freeze, I'd just put those pumpkins up on something that allows any juices to flow out of it and you may get the same effect...a drier, less soupy offering for the chickens.