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Farm Girl

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I would like to know if any of these kind of trees are ok for rabbits?
Apricot,
Peach,
Cherry,
Plum, or
Elderberry

We are pruning our orchard so I was wondering about them.

And my rabbit got her first green today one little strawberry leaf. :wbounce: Not much but its a start. :)
its starting to get springlike here, I think its about 53 degrees now.

have a good day, Farm Girl
 
Unfortunately, trees that produce drupes (single stoned fruits) are not generally good for rabbits. I would look elsewhere for safe twigs. Apple and pear are members of the rose family and are safe.

I don't know about elderberry. Do you have a botanical name for it? Makes it safer to use when checking for edibility/toxicity than just using the common name.
 
Elderberry is Sambucus sp. One of the most common is Sambucus nigra or Black Elderberry. I do not know if it is a prefered species, maybe Maggie will with the scientific name being available. Double check that this is the shrub you are speaking of.

All the others are species in the "Prunus" genus, I know the fruits are said to be problematic.

Black elderberry
 

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Elderberries latin name is Sambucus Nigra
thank you for the information about one pitted fruit trees,
now I know I can't use them which is kinda sad, but at least we have plenty of apple and pear.

Farm Girl

Thanks avdpas77 you already posted the latin name by the time I got mine posted. :)
 
Don't be discouraged... There are so many plants that can be safely fed. The weeds and other plants listed in the Safe Plants sticky should get you off to a good start. :D

This is one reason that I suggest that people who are new to natural feeding for rabbits begin with the safe list. There are so many plants out there and we cannot know about all of them. Learning a few dozen safe ones that grow in your area will give your buns plenty of variety. We will add to the list as time passes and we learn more, but the list is a good start.
 
Actually, the most likely species of elderberry in this area is Sambucus canadensis :cool:
 
Thanks again for the information everybunny.
I counted all the safe plants on your list Maggie and out of 49 plants 34 I am sure we have, maybe more.
So I am not getting discouraged :)
 
Elderberry is toxic as far as leaves, branches and the fruit. All is too high in alkoloids. Elderberry Jam is good to make. It cooks down the PH level and is very healthy to eat. I use vinigar and sugar with berries. Cook it and can it. It's sort of like a Raspberry jam taste when done.
What is edible once a year for rabbits; is the flowers. My rabbits just love them. It's also a very healthy snack. Boosts the immune system. I'm harvesting Elderberry flowers at this time of year for my rabbits. Just be sure to cut only blooming white flower part. And no berries. Also be sure it's a Elderberry that is being harvested. There are many varieties of Elderberry. All are good to harvest flowers from.
 
:hi: Welcome Surfing_Bunny, I hope you enjoy the site, I really have, lots of friendly & helpful people here :)
It's good to know about the elderflowers, I guess my bunnies will be getting some flowers this summer.
Last year was a big year for elderberries, they just kept flowering all summer.

Farm Girl
 
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