Day 318 - Pumpkin Party

 But fun and exciting outdoor fun isn't just for the kids. The chickens love a little adventure as well. 

Over the past month or so, we have decorated our barn and to a much lower extent, our yard. Pumpkins are a staple of the decorating process during autumn. We are fortunate to have a  wonderful pumpkin farm just a few houses down from us so we are more than happy to throw a few bucks their way and bring pumpkins of different sizes and shapes home to the farm. We painted some, carved even more, and placed undecorated pumpkins along both sides of the driveway for a large portion of October and early November. However, as the temperature continues to dip and the daylight dwindles, our chickens tend to be homebodies and seem to avoid going outside of their apparently cozy and comfortable coops.

If only there was some way to get them back outside?

They are very food motivated so encouraging them to venture into the outside world by luring them with their favorite treats is a go to plan. The garden is done for the year so that wont work. We don't have any apples leftover so that won't work either.

Luckily, we still have pumpkins. But unless the girls can dig their beaks into the flesh of the fruit, they just tend to look at them rather than snack on them.

A logical solution to this problem is a smashing pumpkins party. My kids were happy to oblige. We gathered up a number of pumpkins in a wheelbarrow and my daughter wheels them into the yard, only spilling a few along the way. Once inside, a few chickens took notice. Before we knew it, the rest of the flock was investigating us, waiting to see what we were up to this time.  We each took our turns tossing, jumping on, and occasionally resorting to kicking the pumpkins until the seeds and pulp exploded throughout the yard. Patiently, the chickens waited until their sticky feast could begin. Once it did, they went to town, scooping up seed after seed and dissecting each pumpkin until only a dried out rind remained.

Quite a party.