Drying things for winter?

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Kyle@theWintertime

Kyle@theWintertime

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Oct 20, 2011
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Western Michigan
I enjoy giving my rabbits "kitchen scraps" but won't be giving them much of that over winter. Well the darn things have come to EXPECT it...they were so confused and disappointed yesterday because it was pellets/alfalfa cubes ONLY since we had fish and potatoes for dinner! :roll:

I know I can hang/dry corn husks...what about other stuff, like romaine or dandelion greens? Any tips?
 
Dandelions yes. Lettuce doesn't dry as nicely, I've found. Carrot tops dry AWESOME. Beet tops not so much. Apple tree leaves are good for drying, same with rose, blackberry or raspberry cane and leaves.
 
As Bad Habit has already noted, most weeds will dry nicely: plantain, dandelion, prickly lettuce, clover, Queen Anne's lace and so forth. Willow wands with the leaves, poplar.... any edible tree leaves and twigs as well. Really watery things like lettuce probably wouldn't work.

Don't forget that you can also sprout grain for sprouts or fodder for fresh winter greens.
 
Wait...POPPLAR???? Holy crud I didn't know they could eat that!!! Every year I have to hack down all sorts of shooting lanes for deer hunting and it's usually popplar and cedar that is the "problem!" I can just bring all that popplar back for the buns????? :D

Didn't think of carrot tops!!! That's awesome, they LOVE those. :)
 
Yep, it's the same!!! :)

Growing up my grandmother (who was from Colorado originally) would regale me with tales of the beautiful aspen trees in Colorado...my first trip out there, I was SO DISAPPOINTED, it's just freaking POPPLAR!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
my bunnies love the trimmings from my Australian willow trees they are some of the fastest growing trees in the world one is over 45 feet tall in just 5 years once I found bunnies can eat it I took some green twigs to them and litterly they just started at one end and ate the whole thing on a single go. as I got a whole pick-up truck in trimmings this summer I will slow down the tree trimming, next year and take just arm loads to the pens. :) and for the larger branches they love stripping the bark off, good chewing/play time
 
I know this is an old thread but I was so happy recently when I saw rabbits can eat blackberry & raspberry canes! We have tons of them along the edge of where our yard meets our woods.
They LOVE them! For whatever reason I had not thought of drying Dandelion leaves. They munch on them as treats all summer - wish I'd thought of drying some.
 
WhW, don't forget wild roses. They love those as well.

Oooh, and kudzu!! I love the fact that they love kudzu.
 
We're feeding dried comfrey, willow, and raspberry from last summer along with wheat fodder, hay and carrots and parsnips from the root cellar. I remember seeing somewhere else on RT that you can feed winter branches of willow, apple or whatever trees you'd feed in summer. Even think I remember suggestions about putting branches in buckets of water to force them to leaf out. Wonder how far into winter to wait before trying that. Maybe until we're getting low on the dried stuff. Our rabbits really like the willow cut and dried back in May, but they don't eat all the wood like they did last spring--just eat the leaves and chew off the bark. And I wonder whether the winter branches cut fresh have more of less nutrition than branches cut and dried in their early leafy stage.
 
Trees store food for the winter just like all life that lives in cold climates so fall and early winter trees have more nutrients in their branches and bark. Late winter and early spring trees have used up their stores and spent what they have left on buds and so less nutrients
 
Marinea":hjbs8wgk said:
WhW, don't forget wild roses. They love those as well.

Oooh, and kudzu!! I love the fact that they love kudzu.
Click to expand...

Marinea,
Does it have to be wild roses? I say that because we have lots of rose bushes in our landscape that I could use some from when I trim them the next time.
 
WhWRabbitry":2wpkpx4w said:
Marinea":2wpkpx4w said:
WhW, don't forget wild roses. They love those as well.

Oooh, and kudzu!! I love the fact that they love kudzu.
Click to expand...

Marinea,
Does it have to be wild roses? I say that because we have lots of rose bushes in our landscape that I could use some from when I trim them the next time.
Click to expand...

You can feed garden roses as well - they are the same species. Just make sure they have not been sprayed with pesticides.
 
Oh, and don't worry about removing thorns- my buns, at least, eat those as well.
 
MaggieJ":1mhw4nob said:
WhWRabbitry":1mhw4nob said:
Marinea":1mhw4nob said:
WhW, don't forget wild roses. They love those as well.

Oooh, and kudzu!! I love the fact that they love kudzu.
Click to expand...

Marinea,
Does it have to be wild roses? I say that because we have lots of rose bushes in our landscape that I could use some from when I trim them the next time.
Click to expand...

You can feed garden roses as well - they are the same species. Just make sure they have not been sprayed with pesticides.
Click to expand...

Wonderful to know Maggiej! Thank you!!
 
On our farm multi-flora roses have become invasive. Although we mean to whack them back, dig them out or whatever there are so many other things needing to be done during the green time. But we need to cut browse for our pastured goats and they love the rose in spite of the thorns. Cutting it to throw into their pasture has helped us get ahead of it in a couple places. And this year we fed some of it to the rabbits as well--they just don't go through as much of it as the goats. Very satisfying though to feed things that we'd otherwise just brushpile or burn.
 

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