feeding greens on wet days?

[JoannaCW]

We're transitioning our recently bought rabbits (2 NZ does, pregnant as we hope, and one Silver Fox buck) onto natural food; they're eating a variety of greens and twigs eagerly, and we're using the advice from these forums about which plants are safe to give in quantity. But...

We have a spell of wet weather coming up and I'm not sure what to do. Cut greens ahead of time and spread them out on trays under cover to feed? I wasn't sure about that because I think I've read that wilted greens lose their nutritional value rapidly. Cut them wet and feed them in small quantities so the rabbits will eat them before they have time to mold? Are the rules for twigs and for soft green plants different?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[Comet007]

I don't do the natural feed, but I'm wondering... why would it be a problem to feed them wet greens? Rabbits in the wild eat wet greens all the time, otherwise in WA state they wouldn't get to eat except about 80 days a year lol. Not really, but we do get a LOT of rain. I would think that it would take more than a day for any mold to grow on them, so if you pick enough for just one day at a time, how would that be a problem? Sorry, I guess I have more questions than answers. :?

 

[ChaoSS]

I feed a combination of pellets, hay, oats, and greens. I feed the greens when I get home from work in the morning. Most days when I do so the cages are empty of hay and greens. If they have been getting a lot of stuff they don't like (they eat the grass from fox tails but not the seed heads) there may be stuff left, I just clear it out. Anyway, it's dried out by that time, so I don't see a problem with mold. With my sprinklers going off at night it's perfectly normal for mine to eat wet grass and weeds.

 

[MaggieJ]

I used to worry about wet greens, but then I thought about the wild rabbits eating them and stopped worrying. I suppose they might be a concern for rabbits newly transitioned to greens, however.

What I would suggest, if you are worried, is to get an old towel and blot the greens on it, removing most of the excess water. Dividing the greens and feeding half at a time would also be a good precaution.

I don't recommend wilted greens, except in the case of stinging nettles. With those, you want to make sure they will not sting the rabbits, so they need to be really wilted or dried.

 

[Permajen]

Hi, I'm feeding wet greens all the time -- it's been a rainy month. The trick is not to feed badly bruised or mangled greens, which could theoretically begin to ferment or moulder. Even on hot humid days, if I've picked damp (dewy) morning grass and left it in the bungee cord feeder all day, I don't see any signs of mould, and the rabbits are just as happy to tuck in of an afternoon. (I wouldn't leave it longer than 24 hours, though.)

Pellet type feeds, by contrast, go mouldy very readily. This is because all the cell walls have been broken down, and the nutrients and sugars are highly available, while the pellets themselves readily absorb atmospheric moisture and provide rough surfaces perfect for harbouring mould spores.

Not a scientist -- but those are my thoughts.

cheers
Jen