Warm squash and oatmeal for chickens make wonderful breakfasts to warm your birds from the inside out during cold weather.
As the days get shorter, we chicken keepers start heating the coop waterers. Our chickens are adapting to the changes in weather and temperature, and though they’re hardy animals, it doesn’t mean they’re always comfortable in the cold especially if some are molting late in the season. A warm meal can ease the shock and make the weather a bit more bearable.
Cooked Winter Squash
Pumpkin, like other winter squashes, is high in vitamin A, vitamin C and beta-carotene. It’s just as healthy for chickens as it is for us (when we don’t purée it into a custard full of sugar).
To cook a ripe pumpkin, break off the stem, stab a few holes around the top, and bake at 350°F for one hour. To contain the mess, put the pumpkin in a 9-by-13″ pan lined with aluminum foil. After an hour, turn the oven off and leave the pumpkin in the hot oven for 20 minutes or so, just to make sure it’s nice and soft. After the pumpkin cools enough to touch, slice it into quarters, let it cool a little more, and then serve it to the chickens.
If you try baking a fresher pie pumpkin or other winter squash, like butternut or spaghetti squash, you’ll find they’re very tough to cut into with a knife. In these cases, grab a drill and make two holes in the top of the squash using a 1/2-inch drill bit. This not only saves fingers, but it lets the steam escape the squash so it doesn’t explode all over the oven.
Some people feed their jack-o’-lantern pulp to their flocks when they’re carving pumpkins for Halloween, but I haven’t had success with this. My picky flock will only eat pumpkin seeds if they’re cooked. If you find your flock is like mine, and you can get to your jack-o’-lantern before it starts to decay, cut it up and steam the pumpkin flesh for your flock so it doesn’t go to waste. It’s a great supplement, low in calories and makes a small dent in feed costs.
Warm Oatmeal for Chickens
What I love about feeding warm oatmeal for chickens to my flock, especially on the coldest mornings, is that it’s cheap, it’s hydrating and I can mix in kitchen scraps to make it a little more exciting for the foragers.
I don’t bother cooking the oatmeal because then I have to wait for it to cool. Instead, I put about one cup of old-fashioned oats into a glass bowl, then simply add hot water from the tap. I let the oats soak for a few minutes and sometimes add a little more water.
I always stick my finger into the oatmeal to see if it’s warm enough. If not, I’ll microwave it for 30 seconds, but not more without checking the temperature. I don’t want to risk burning the chickens.
This article about warm squash and oatmeal for chickens was written for Chickens magazine. Click here to subscribe.
