Is Sage Brush OK?

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Shara

Shara

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I see lots of dead grass, and tons of sage brush. I know its okay for pigs, but what about bunnies?

__________ Tue Oct 26, 2010 5:18 pm __________

Artemisia tridentata
and
Brickellia microphylla


are what I think they are.<br /><br />__________ Tue Oct 26, 2010 5:20 pm __________<br /><br />Okay, it is the first one, for sure. But still don't know if it is safe.
 
Shara, here is how I do a Google search when wanting to know if a plant is safe. I type in the botanical name plus the words toxicity rabbits, so in this case it was:
Artemisia tridentata toxicity rabbits

Lots and lots of hits. Here is one that suggests it is okay for wild pygmy rabbits and cottontails:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17082988

I suggest you read further to get a feel for how much may be safe and whether it is something you want to add to your rabbits' diet.
 
Just go easy with it, Shara. Any new food should be introduced in moderation... sudden changes can cause problems. Remember too the value of offering a variety of greens rather than relying on just one.
 
yeah, I know. :) They are on just pellets now, but I had a really good handle on yummy greens to feed them in Salem, but here the weeds are all different. I mean, there is dandelion, but most of the rest I dont recognize and don't know how safe it is. I like to have a good working knowledge of the weeds in my area, both for them and for me.

Good point, I am back in Yarrow country, so will be making some scrumptious tea!

So Pygmy Rabbits are native to my area, I wonder how closely they are related to our rabbits...contontails don't eat much of it though..
 
Without having done much reading about it, I would speculate that pygmy rabbits adapted to a diet high in sage brush out of necessity. The cottontails apparently have not. But since cottontails do eat some sage brush, I would think it is okay to feed small quantities to domestic rabbits. But, since it is not a plant that grows here in Southern Ontario, I have no way to test it.
 
After my litter grows up a bit, I will test on a couple of them. That was my impression, too. There is nothing else to eat here, so they adapted to what was available.
 

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