Natural de-worming plants

I saw this posted on a different forum in relation to natural de-worming.

http://eap.mcgill.ca/agrobio/ab370-04e.htm

It's not talking about rabbits in specific, but it lists a lot of plants that we consider to be safe (and also a few plants that are generally considered UNSAFE).

For example it mentions:

Blackberries, raspberries, and young ash and elder shoots are also other plant species with deworming properties that should be accessible in pastures.

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Elder has always been on my "toxic" list, but blackberry and raspberry leaves are very safe.
I'm guessing it refers to blackberry and raspberry plants and not fruits in this context? It doesn't distinguish, but the general reference is in regards to pasture forage. :hmm:

I didn't realize that I might be providing some natural parasite protection to the buns by feeding it to them.

I'd like to know if this page and those plants have been discussed here on RT yet? Which ones do we know are safe, and which ones do we know for sure are unsafe?

Also some plants might be unsafe to form any large portion of the diet, but could be safe in small medicinal doses.
(Mugwort comes to mind, as I eat the shoots myself in springtime, but wouldn't consider it suitable as a dietary staple)

Unfortunately, I don't have time right now to get into this subject in detail, but I have always believed that the best medicine for common ailments is found in fresh foods. The fact that my small, sometimes overcrowded rabbit colony has experienced almost no illness or parasite problems is due, I believe, to the vast assortment of wild plants I have always fed to them. It's a subject that could use more research.

Another study, from British Columbia:
http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/pdf/ ... 9-7-21.pdf

Blackberry, raspberry and strawberry, etc would be the leaves. It's the part used for human medicine. tHey are not as strong as some other things, but they might be strong enough for rabbits. I know that they are used to help tide over the symptoms of giardia if you get it out in the woods, though it won't treat it. Never thought about them in the context of a wormer though. I'd probably go with pumpkin or epazote rather than the berry leaves.

But yes, much agreed, it does deserve more attention than running to the local store and picking up chemical wormers, antibiotics, and such...

I don't mind tossing the berry leaves into their cages as forage, and being happy that there are some secondary heath benefits to it.

michelsforgardens is often mentioning garlic and garlic chives for cocci in rabbits. It would be interesting if it was also effective against other rabbit parasites. In that article they state:

Garlic

Garlic is a common plant dewormer that is easy to find. It is known to be active against, among others, Ascaris, Enterobius and, of particular interest for ruminants, against lungworm in general1. It must be used, however, as prevention (prophylaxis) rather than as treatment or with other products. In fact, garlic does not prevent the production of eggs but prevents the eggs of certain parasites from developing into larvae5. In the ninth century, in Persia, Avicenne recommended the use of garlic as an additive rather than as a dewormer alone. Garlic is incorporated into certain commercial homeopathic or allopathic dewormers, but always with other plant-derived substances. The numerous therapeutic properties of garlic come mainly from its high sulphur content.

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I have noticed ascarids [round worms] in rabbit poop after feeding garlic tops, as I have after they ate some peach leaves.[ back when I tried several colony type rabbit raising experiments, that were a parasite nightmare in a few years]

So do you just put the garlic in their water or something????? :shock:

Easy Ears":9trm46rs said:

So do you just put the garlic in their water or something????? :shock:

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Easy Ears, if you are new to rabbits, please do not start dosing them with things like garlic. Many of us have been working for years to understand the effects of various plants on rabbit health. It is a complicated subject -- read all the back posts in the Natural Feeding forum to get the idea -- and please don't try to run before you can walk.

MaggieJ":2yja5xhp said:

Easy Ears":2yja5xhp said:

So do you just put the garlic in their water or something????? :shock:

Click to expand...

Easy Ears, if you are new to rabbits, please do not start dosing them with things like garlic. Many of us have been working for years to understand the effects of various plants on rabbit health. It is a complicated subject -- read all the back posts in the Natural Feeding forum to get the idea -- and please don't try to run before you can walk.

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Thanks Maggiej!
I definitely intended this thread more for discussion than instruction.

Easy Ears,
Rabbits can be so sensitive to dietary changes that even a medicinal dose of a relatively safe plant could potentially kill a young enough rabbit or even an older one that had only ever eaten pellets.

Gas or gi upset do not sound like that serious of side effects to us, but could lead to gi stasis and death to a rabbit.
Please, don't risk your beloved pet bunnies trying these plants out!!

Oh...ok. :wall:

Thanks Zass.