By Payton Tholstrup

Do you have pumpkins you want to get rid of? Instead of just throwing them away, try feeding them to wildlife. If they are not painted or treated in any way, the insides and outsides of pumpkins can provide a tasty snack for local wildlife.

According to Pat Silovsky, Director of Milford Nature Center, deer, squirrels, birds, and foxes are fond of pumpkins. Birds especially enjoy the seeds, as do other mammals.

At Milford Nature Center, pumpkins are a big hit with various animals. The skunk, the prairie dogs, and the opossums all eat the seeds and some of the flesh. Even the turtles eat pumpkins if they are steamed to soften them up a bit.

“Interestingly enough, there are records of vultures eating pumpkins after a frost, but ours have never eaten them,” she said.

If you can’t feed your pumpkins to wildlife, farm animals will also enjoy them. Silovsky said her chickens and pig love pumpkins too.

Check to make sure the pumpkins aren’t moldy before giving them to any animals. If they are and have sat for several weeks, it’s best to just compost them.

If you are interested in other ways you can recycle pumpkins, Silovsky shared this post from the National Wildlife Federation.