The deer population here in Michigan is out of control, so I hope a lot of hunters get lucky this year--for the sake of the deer, as well. Overpopulation is not good for their health.
Nature lovers are in conflict. The local paper had an article this past week about how the deer over-population is devastating some of the nature centers' native plants. It would be expensive to round up the herds and locals do not want hunting in the preserves. No resolution is obvious. Bow hunting is less objectionable. Is that a solution?
I stopped recently at one of my favorite garden centers to see if they still had a few pansies. The winter-hardy pansies would be thriving in the mild weather we have enjoyed. The store had just closed that day and they were loading up all the leftover pumpkins. They told me they would be thrown into the fields out back for the deer. So the deer eat pumpkins, too.
Martha Stewart's blog informs me that chickens enjoy pumpkins. Eating the orange pulp results in a lovely color in the egg yolks. I decided to recycle my daughter Marissa's Halloween carving projects and delivered her pumpkins to my uncle's chickens. Some of the insides were getting a little fuzzy, but they still had a lot of good pumpkin flesh available.
Apparently my uncle's chickens were not familiar with this particular delicacy and I enjoyed watching them for several minutes while they became comfortable with the new food. I threw one chunk of pumpkin into the yard and they just stared--staying distant. When a familiar vegetable such as a split-open overgrown zucchini is tossed in, they run full speed ahead to be the first in the pecking order. I watched, from a distance. A few chickens took a step forward, cocking their heads. One chicken actually poked her head out from around a tree, checking out the bright orange object. Gradually, with halting steps, they moved closer.
Given the brainlessness I always attribute to chickens, I was surprised at their deliberate caution. Finally, one brave white hen stepped up to the plate and took a vigorous peck at the orange flesh. Yum. I could almost see her expression of delight as she continued to peck the pumpkin. Her friends soon joined in the great pumpkin feast.
Later when they were all sated, I took a photo:
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