Pumpkin

[katie_fleming]

Hey!

I was walking by a grocery store and saw lots of pumpkins for sale. I know Ekkies can have it, but does it need to be prepared somehow? What part(s) are safe?

Thought it would be nice to buy a small one and see if Jasper likes it

And I've been giving him store-bought pumpkin seeds (from the petstore). If I get him a pumpkin how do I dry them out for him? Bake in the oven?

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

I believe it's safe raw or cooked. I like to scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff and sprinkle with cinnamon & cloves and bake. Zilla isn't too thrilled with it, but she will eat it if I let her eat off my fork or plate. She doesn't like sweet potatoes or most other squashes either (she is a bit weird for a parrot)

To dry the seeds just separate them from the stringy stuff and lay on a baking sheet in a 200 degree oven, turn every 20 or 30 minutes until dry. you can season them with cayenne or cinnamon or any other seasoning you/he might like.

 

[katie_fleming]

Ok great! Thanks Maybe I'll carve a little one for fun and let him eat the insides haha.

The seeds don't have to be cooked though, right? I'd like to bake them but was wondering if some that were 'raw' were ok as well.

I have a feeling Jasper is going to need a major shower after this

 

[camo]

I'm ready....just waiting for the movie to start now

 

[littleredhen77]

my bird loves pumpkin! ive tried cubes of raw pumpkin and he wasnt to into it, then i tried baking some of those mini decorative ones and using them as food bowls..and he went nuts!

and in no time it was a shredded mess of pumpkin in a 4 foot radius of his food bowl lol!

so, i would say if yours doesnt like it raw, literally all i did with mine was remove the seeds and put a couple tablespoons of water inside, replace the "lid" and bake at 350 until it was tender. he loved it! i roasted a larger pumpkin and pureed it, put spoonfuls of it in an ice cube tray and froze it, i take them out and microwave them in a coffee mug for 30 seconds and serve, he loves it that way too!

i do clean my pumpkins by soaking them in a sink full of water with about 2 cups of white vinegar for 30 minutes, to remove any pesticides, then scrub with a veggie brush. i dont leave the stems on when he gets them but he chews the skin as well as the flesh so i like to make sure its clean.

i toasted all the seeds and give him a few in his mix every morning, another thing he loves! thats the onlk kind of seeds he gets regularly.

 

[katie_fleming]

So cute!

Thanks for the info! I have a pumpkin sitting on my table just haven't had time to do anything with it yet. I'll keep your post in mind in case he doesn't like it raw!

 

[chris-md]

I'm baking a mini pumpkin for Parker as we speak