Pecan tree parts for feeding rabbits?

[Frecs]

I have 5 large and multiple small pecan (Carya illinoinensis) trees. I've been longing to use them as forage for my rabbits but thought I'd read that they were toxic to rabbits. But then...

I found this:

Pecan shell is a pure natural material made of cellulose and lignin. In fact it is the identical composition of a common material found in pears. If you have eaten a pear and noticed the gritty texture, those are clusters of the same type of cells as pecan shell. What is good about the pecan shell resource, is that the shell is protected during the life cycle from any contamination by both an external green husk and the fiber system of the tree which acts as a large filter for any possible ground contaminants. The result is a pesticide free clean fiber resource that is natural and requires no chemical processing or additives.
In pet food, pecan shell is ground to individual cells called sclereids that have a rounded oval shape (sclereids are also found in apples, cloves, cinnamon, and pears).
Pecan shell is not a poison for animals or humans; instead, it is a rich source of antioxidants such as Ellagic acid and Gallic acid. In fact the shell contains more than 3 times the antioxidant value of an equivalent weight of either raw blueberries or raw raspberries.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Are_pecan_she ... on_to_dogs

And the Florida Extension office mentions that rabbits girdle young pecan trees...

Then, I saw right here on rabbittalk that pecan wood was mentioned as safe for rabbit chewing...

I've found no mention of the leaves...

So, does anyone have information pertaining to the safety of the various pecan parts for feeding rabbits? Beyond just "it won't kill'em"...is there any actually nutritional value to certain parts or is it just a fiber/roughage source?

 

[MaggieJ]

This Arkansas site may be useful to those in the South. It has information on toxicity to humans and is well organized giving both common and Latin names of plants.
http://www.aragriculture.org/horticultu ... plants.htm

Frecs, you may also find this article interesting.
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/p ... 004/silvo/

 

[Frecs]

This Arkansas site may be useful to those in the South. It has information on toxicity to humans and is well organized giving both common and Latin names of plants.
http://www.aragriculture.org/horticultu ... plants.htm

Frecs, you may also find this article interesting.
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/p ... 004/silvo/

That first link is AWESOME! Thanks!

That second link I've actually looked at briefly before. Silvopasturing is an interesting idea and while their focus is on combining trees (wood crop) and livestock, the idea is right there with what I'm trying to develop. I'm working on a "food forest" which combines various trees (some food producing, some forage & mulch producing) with understory shrubs and ground level plants. The system will feed humans and animals while producing plenty of biomass for putting back down to feed the soil which feeds the trees which feeds the humans and animals...

So, it appears that pecan tree parts are not toxic. Now to see if the rabbits like it and which parts they like....

 

[Andrei]

I know the leaf contains iodine just like the cousin walnut and it not very pleasant eating but I have feed occasionally English walnut leaves to the rabbit.

 

[Frecs]

Phase one of the experiment to see rabbit preferences for pecan tree:

Cut off a half-inch diameter branch, removed all leaves, and gave to one hutch of grow-outs.

Within 10 minutes, the twig was denuded of the brown outer bark plus the green inner layer.

Curious to see if they eat the rest of it or leave the white inner-wood.<br /><br />__________ Fri Jul 12, 2013 8:07 am __________<br /><br />Update: they ate the entire branch. No evidence of stomach upset or other side effects.

Not sure I'll try the leaves. Once the nut harvest begins, I'll try feeding them the shells.

 

[WildWolf]

Sounds like they enjoyed it!

 

[HTAcres]

Phase one of the experiment to see rabbit preferences for pecan tree:

Cut off a half-inch diameter branch, removed all leaves, and gave to one hutch of grow-outs.

Within 10 minutes, the twig was denuded of the brown outer bark plus the green inner layer.

Curious to see if they eat the rest of it or leave the white inner-wood.<br /><br />__________ Fri Jul 12, 2013 8:07 am __________<br /><br />Update: they ate the entire branch. No evidence of stomach upset or other side effects.

Not sure I'll try the leaves. Once the nut harvest begins, I'll try feeding them the shells.

Hi! Did you continue feeding your rabbits pecan tree hay?