Autumn is one of the girls' favorite times of the year. Fresh gourds and pumpkins are abundant and with a Chicken Momma that has a pumpkin collecting addiction this time of the year, there is never a shortage of delicious chunks and guts available to our girls.
It never fails. Year to year, it always takes them a little while to remember how delicious this slimy, sticky, stringy, seeded mess can be. The girls always start by nibbling up a stray seed or two. Within no time, they are running around the chicken run with stringy clumped bits of pumpkin hanging from their mouths. It is like a feeding frenzy in the shark tank. It is great fun to watch. It is a comedy-thriller on my chicken T.V. as I sit there with a warm coffee in hand, just watching the girls giddy with excitement. Sometimes they share bits between one another's mouths like Lady and the Tramp. Other times, they run around aimlessly seeking cover from another who is after their "find". Little do they know, pumpkins are wonderful for the girls' preventative health.
Did you know that over the last 50 years or so, medical studies in both humans and livestock shows that raw pumpkin seeds have been clinically proven to reduce the number of tapeworms present in the digestive tract? These seeds contain an amino acid called cucurbitacin that paralyzes the worms. This allows for the chickens to pass the worms in their poop.
If you do decide to share some pumpkins or their guts with your flock, be sure to provide them with plenty of grit to help breakdown and digest those seeds. I hope you too, like me, enjoy watching a new program this Fall on your chicken t.v.!
More pumpkin reading and photos~ 2011, 2010
Further Reading for inquiring minds:
Delaware State University: http://www.desu.edu/sites/default/files/Pumpkin%20Seeds-Worms_DJO.pdf
Rybaltovskii OV. 1966. On the discovery of cucurbitin—a component of pumpkin seed with anthelmintic action. Med Parazitol (Mosk) 35:487–8
Plotnikov AA et. al. 1972. Clinical trial or cucurbin (a preparation from pumpkin seeds) in cestadiasis. Med Parazitol (Mosk) 41(4): 407-411.
Further Reading for inquiring minds:
Delaware State University: http://www.desu.edu/sites/default/files/Pumpkin%20Seeds-Worms_DJO.pdf
Rybaltovskii OV. 1966. On the discovery of cucurbitin—a component of pumpkin seed with anthelmintic action. Med Parazitol (Mosk) 35:487–8
Plotnikov AA et. al. 1972. Clinical trial or cucurbin (a preparation from pumpkin seeds) in cestadiasis. Med Parazitol (Mosk) 41(4): 407-411.
Photo Credit: Tilly's Nest
I was just thinking this morning that I had to check your blog for how to feed our girls pumpkin! You read my mind! Thanks
ReplyDeleteSometimes I add a little bit of canned pumpkin in my girls' occasional yogurt treat. When we carve pumpkins this year I will be sure to give them the gooey innards!
ReplyDeleteanybody have any ideas how to store whole pumpkins for maybe a mid nov or xmas teat any ideas?
ReplyDeleteI would bet that you could quarter smaller ones and freeze them. I would thaw them out overnight and give them to the flock in the morning. What a great idea!
DeleteI have kept well cured pumpkins for up to one year (really!) by keeping them in a cool, dry corner, and rolling them to rest on a different side every few days.
DeleteWow! Thank you for the fantastic tip. I love it!
DeleteI had no idea raw pumpkin seeds were so beneficial to chickens. Great info. I just know my chickens love them so I'm glad they are getting extra protection against worms!
ReplyDeleteI bet the eggs yolks get even more orange with all that delicious pumpkin. Lucky girls, lucky you!
ReplyDeleteFor winter feeding of pumpkins, just pile them up and cover with a tarp. Put a frozen pumpkin in a bucket, in a warm place overnight, next day, a nice soupy pumpkin for the girls.
ReplyDeleteI love the blog! although I do not have chickens as I am in a suburb that no longer allows it, I found your articles on pumpkin seeds wonderful! I am thinking that raw pumpkin seeds are good for dogs too (ground up of course) and added a little each day for a while might be great for dogs too as well as people...I will look into it....
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I love your chickens, very sweet...
Nancy
http://wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com
You are so sweet! Thank you so much. Yes, I do believe there is a ground up version of the pumpkin seeds for dogs. I am sure the answers is just a few mouse clicks away. Thank you for your lovely comment.
DeleteSuch a great reminder that I need to feed some fresh pumpkin to my flock! Glad to know that the seeds are so healthy for them. I love your description of the chicken TV....it is so true!!!
ReplyDeleteI love that you can relate to chicken T.V. I tell you it truly is the best reality t.v. show on these days :)
DeleteI would never have thought of giving them pumpkin innards! Thanks for the tip, I'll save it from our carvings later in the month. In the meantime, I'll pick up some small ones from the farm down the road for treats this week.
ReplyDeleteDebbie :)
I wouldn't either. My poor 9 year old gets nauseated just looking at them. Poor kiddo. I am sure your girls will love them. I'd love for you to link up a post to the blog hop this week of them and their pumpkins.
DeleteThey love Lady Godiva squash, because the seeds are "naked" (no shell.)They're delicious, and I'm pretty grudging about sharing, so I'd recommend planting a lot of them!
ReplyDeleteHow cool. I will definitely be on the lookout for those. Thank you for sharing. I had never heard of them before.
DeleteThank you for linking up at the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week, Melissa! Your photography is always amazing (even of 'chunks and guts.' LOL!)
ReplyDelete