Add to safe plants list?

[dragonladyleanne]

I have been feeding my rabbits this, first only to the injured one, but they all seem to love it, and recently I saw another Florida person say his rabbits love it too. The only thing I can't find is whether it's annual or perenial. I suspect annual, since it seeds so prolifically, but I can't confirm it anywhere. Anyway, here's the listing, and a good reference link:


Spanish Needle, or Beggar Lice: Bidens alba var. radiata: Above ground parts.

http://mangrove.fnpschapters.org/index. ... ish-needle

 

[MaggieJ]

Interesting plant.

It is apparently edible for humans... still checking for references to rabbits.
http://www.eattheweeds.com/spanish-need ... fork-weed/

There are many, many species of Bidens. Detailed study mentioning a different Bidens used in Vietnam to raise rabbits.
http://www.mekarn.org/prorab/phuo.htm

Okay! Here we go:
http://manuredepot.com/more-weeds-for-rabbits/
http://oldescrubland.blogspot.ca/2012/1 ... erful.html

 

[nicnmike]

Our bunnies love Spanish needles. It's an annual. It should start sprouting late spring and continue until frost. The lady we first talked to about raising rabbits feeds arm fulls of the stuff to her rabbits.

My bunnies also seems to love St. Augustine grass. Between the St. Aug and the S. needles, I no longer feel like I'm weeding the flower beds, but gathering food for the buns.

The "green briar" under the manuredepot link is smilax. There are a ton of different species. I've never heard of any of them being poisonous. I've tasted them before; they have a strong 'plant' taste (for a lack of a better descriptor). If you do feed them to your rabbit, just be careful of the thorns. Some of them are quite prickly.

 

[hoodat]

Greenbriar is one of the favorite deer browse plants. I used to browse on the tender tips of new growth myself but it's hard to beat the deer and rabbits to them. Highly nutritious plant but there is a narrow leafed variety that isn't that good. The best ones have a broad shiny leaf. The thorns might be a pain to you when gathering but they don't seem to bother the rabbits. It's a puzzle how rabbits can eat such thorny plants without getting stuck but they do.