Cow Pasture Pumpkins/Squash?

So, the past few years we have had very healthy volunteer squash and pumpkins in the cow pasture (the cows are also in the pasture).  We have been able to harvest them, and although the varieties are not our choice, they are edible and have grown with almost not labor from humans.
I am considering PLANTING squash/Pumpkin seeds directly into cow pies in the pasture this summer.  The cows have not eaten the squash in the past few years, so I am willing to gamble that at least SOME of the plants will produce harvestable fruit.  I have plenty of saved seeds.  
Anyone have any feedback?  I won't be out more than my time planting and some free saved seed m(of which I have too much anyway!), and I could potentially have a great squash harvest (food for humans and winter food for the cows... they have not eaten them when growing, yet when I cut them up in the winter and feed them out, they are happily consumed).

We sell pumpkins and following Halloween, we feed the leftovers to the cows. There're always few seeds left scattered around, and some do take root the following Spring, and some grow. We will occasionally get a pumpkin that makes thru Summer, but it's rare. Dem cows do like eat'n some pun'kns.

So go ahead if you wish, can't hurt. And it does add to the general overall biomass. But our experience is that there's high hopes in mid-Spring, followed by disappointment come Fall. It might help to plant close to or even somewhat under the field fences. Cows are messy eaters and don't tend to spend a lot of time being careful about where they walk.

Sounds like a win-win experiment to me!  Best case scenario, your fruit make it to harvest.  Worst-case scenario, they still feed the cows.  I know the point is to have winter food for both, but as you said, you have lots of saved seed, so it won't hurt to try....I know some varieties have pretty sharp thorns of the vines/stems.  I know we've made enough blood sacrifices to ensure a good harvest.  Perhaps that's why the cows don't bother them?  or maybe due to the large round shape, they're hard to get a bite on until you break 'em open for them?

There's a C. Moschata variety called "cow pumpkin" that I recently heard about, and am searching for someone that has seed to trade me.  It's a very large ovoid tan pumpkin with good eating flesh.  I assume they earned that name for being pasture pumpkins, but don't know.

Jim Fry wrote:We will occasionally get a pumpkin that makes thru Summer, but it's rare. Dem cows do like eat'n some pun'kns.  

I've just been surprised that basically all of the volunteers in the cow pasture seem to have harvestable fruit in the fall.  The volunteers that we lose seems to be due to chickens pecking holes in them, not the cows.  
I wonder if it matters that our cattle are just a few head of feeder cattle.  If they were dairy cows and had pumpkins year after year previously, maybe they'd be more apt to eat them, recognizing them as food? Also, they often go on their one-way trip before we harvest the squash and pumpkin (before they are fully ripe and as tempting)

yeah, i suspect they aren’t very tempting until the sugar levels go up at ripeness.

As others said, sounds like a no-lose situation. For the cost of a walk around the pasture to plant some seeds, you may get some food for you, and either way get some biomass and food for the cows.

Pumpkins are known for being heavy feeders. A friend used them to cover their composts in the summer.

I like the idea of planting some near the fence line, because some might grow on the other side, which would give humans a chance if the cows decide they like them one year.