ramblingrabbit
Well-known member
The guy I got my rabbits from a couple years back fed a pellet diet, but he also fed Cordyline (the large green leafed variety mostly, I think). He's been breeding them for years, so when I got home, determined to convert to a natural diet as quickly as possible, Cordyline was naturally one of the first plants I looked to. As far as I can tell Cordyline fruticosa and C. terminalis are actually the same species, with many varieties.
In Hawaii we call them "ti plants" (not to be confused with "tea plants" which is pronounced the same). There is a large-leafed, dark green variety that is naturalized here in moist forests, and it's cultivation and uses go back to the ancient Hawaiian times (many other colorful ornamental variations arrived here later). They were considered sacred and specifically imbued with protective and purifying properties, and so were typically planted around homes and sacred sites. The leaves were used to make garments (such as rain ponchos) and various accessories. they often featured in ceremonies. They can be braided or twisted into a kind of weak but flexible and easy to make cordage, for all kinds of quick tie jobs. They were also used to wrap food for cooking (as banana leaves are used worldwide, or corn husks for tamales) kind of like a biodegradable tin foil.
They make a great rabbit feed plant for several reasons. Our rabbits love them. They are a low-maintenance, perennial plant already widely planted around here--they were already abundant on our property before we ever got rabbits because we've landscaped with them everywhere. They are easy to harvest for feeding and don't even require a knife or sickle--you just separate the outer leaves with a sharp downward tug. The leaves are large, so if you have a lot of plants, you can collect a large amount of forage in a short time by hand. You can hold a huge bundle in one hand by gathering the long stems together. These bundles can be easily tied up and hung for growouts to eat without soiling them (ours will devour the biggest bundle you can fit in your hand surprisingly quickly when they are hungry). The leaves don't have any kind of resin or sap to stain your hands or clothing. The leaves have a waxy texture, and stay fresh a long while after picking, so you can gather a bunch at once and fed them over the course of several days.
Unfortunately, I've never been able to find much info about their nutritional value for rabbits, though they are obviously good feed. Which is partly why I wanted to share my experience with them. The only thing I've found anywhere was this page http://www.feedipedia.org/node/11881, which just lists very basic nutrient values but doesn't give anything else. Pretty decent crude protein, lots of fiber, and fairly high dry matter percentage.
Base on our experience, I would highly recommend feeding them if you have plants already, or consider planting some around, if you live in a climate where they will grow (fairly warmish). They can be propagated easily from stem cuttings. They are convenient to feed, low-maintence to grow, and the rabbits love 'em! We have relied on them a lot for forage over the past couple of years, feed them in some quantity very nearly every feeding.
In Hawaii we call them "ti plants" (not to be confused with "tea plants" which is pronounced the same). There is a large-leafed, dark green variety that is naturalized here in moist forests, and it's cultivation and uses go back to the ancient Hawaiian times (many other colorful ornamental variations arrived here later). They were considered sacred and specifically imbued with protective and purifying properties, and so were typically planted around homes and sacred sites. The leaves were used to make garments (such as rain ponchos) and various accessories. they often featured in ceremonies. They can be braided or twisted into a kind of weak but flexible and easy to make cordage, for all kinds of quick tie jobs. They were also used to wrap food for cooking (as banana leaves are used worldwide, or corn husks for tamales) kind of like a biodegradable tin foil.
They make a great rabbit feed plant for several reasons. Our rabbits love them. They are a low-maintenance, perennial plant already widely planted around here--they were already abundant on our property before we ever got rabbits because we've landscaped with them everywhere. They are easy to harvest for feeding and don't even require a knife or sickle--you just separate the outer leaves with a sharp downward tug. The leaves are large, so if you have a lot of plants, you can collect a large amount of forage in a short time by hand. You can hold a huge bundle in one hand by gathering the long stems together. These bundles can be easily tied up and hung for growouts to eat without soiling them (ours will devour the biggest bundle you can fit in your hand surprisingly quickly when they are hungry). The leaves don't have any kind of resin or sap to stain your hands or clothing. The leaves have a waxy texture, and stay fresh a long while after picking, so you can gather a bunch at once and fed them over the course of several days.
Unfortunately, I've never been able to find much info about their nutritional value for rabbits, though they are obviously good feed. Which is partly why I wanted to share my experience with them. The only thing I've found anywhere was this page http://www.feedipedia.org/node/11881, which just lists very basic nutrient values but doesn't give anything else. Pretty decent crude protein, lots of fiber, and fairly high dry matter percentage.
Base on our experience, I would highly recommend feeding them if you have plants already, or consider planting some around, if you live in a climate where they will grow (fairly warmish). They can be propagated easily from stem cuttings. They are convenient to feed, low-maintence to grow, and the rabbits love 'em! We have relied on them a lot for forage over the past couple of years, feed them in some quantity very nearly every feeding.
