Questions and comments about plant safety for rabbits.

[Beach Bunny]

oops i meant Hosta and Dichondra .Dichondra is a different plant.I have some growing in a planter and for hosta are all varieties safe?

 

[MaggieJ]

As far as I know, all varieties of hostas are safe. I know nothing about Dichondra. In most cases, I keep ornamentals away from rabbits, just on principle. I suggest you google by full botanical (Latin) name along with keywords such as rabbit and toxicity to determine their safety.

 

[Beach Bunny]

I cant seem to find any info either way on the Dichondra so i guess it's better to be safe and not use it.

 

[MaggieJ]

I think the point with fresh greens is not so much "will this plant poison my rabbit?" as "will this plant make a valuable contribution to my rabbit's nutrition and good health?" This is the reason I favour the broad-leaved invasive European weeds listed in the SAFE PLANTS list. These are what wild European rabbits have been eating since the last ice age and we know they are good forage for our rabbits.

 

[Beach Bunny]

Good point, unforunatly telling the other people you live with you want to plant a "weed" garden in their yard may not go over well LOL. I think sticking to herbs an perhaps some marigolds will hopefully make everyone happy.

 

[MaggieJ]

Dandelions and purslane are gourmet garden greens. Plant any weeds in nice rows and tell folks they are European salad greens. :twisted:

 

[Beach Bunny]

Hmmm i think can get away with purslane..but i've never seen it where would you get it?

 

[MaggieJ]

Here's a garden variety of purslane. It's good for people too.

http://www.wildgardenseed.com/index.php?cPath=49

 

[hoodat]

I never have to pull purslane in my garden. I let my Mexican neighbors know when I have a lot of it growing and they send the kids over to pull it.
There are seeds available for French dandelion which is much bigger than the wild and just as good for the rabbits. Pretty good in your salad too if you blanch it. That takes the bitterness out.

 

[MaggieJ]

It's always a decision here whether to give purslane to the rabbits or eat it ourselves. I like it in salads, stir-fries and stews.

 

[hoodat]

My rabbits solve that problem for me. For some reason they just don't like it. Purslane is used in Mexican cooking to thicken soup kind of like the Cajuns use Okra.

 

[Iggysbabysitter]

I have been reading up on cattails as food. Even for human consumption, the entire plant is edible. Leaves are tough, the white core is sweet... described kinda like asperagus, zuchini, or cucumber (peeled and chopped for salads or soups), and the root is supposed to be starchy like a potatoe. My buns had a mound of grape vine tossed in an hour ago, and some was still there when I checked on them. I tossed in a few whole cattails, and everybunny came running. They prefer this sweet treat to grapevine, devouring the long leaves first then the core. I have yet to see if they prefer this to willow. I'll try drying a bunch for winter feeding since I have been able to find so much of it (MaggieJ, it's all over the base and the parks where I bring the kids! I love finding free bunny food). I noticed your list notes only the leaves, but I wonder if it could be changed to entire plant (the favored part being the leaves). I'm not sure where to find it's value as a protien source (I wonder if it is as valuable as willow. One site lists just basic nutritional blurb).
I did find one draw-back for using cat tails as a food... they filter the water they are in, and so are filled with whatever was in the water (ewwwww, ditch run off). So, perhaps it's best to consider where your water supply is coming from before consuming... (sorry MaggieJ, I never considered this before harvesting those for your bunnies. Perhaps I could bring you some from the beach where I know they test the water regularly).
I had also wondered about elephant grass, as it seems to be everywhere and there MUST be a purpose for it. Has anyone looked into it? I could only find one mention of it as an undesired food source, perhaps better for bedding.

 

[MaggieJ]

I changed the entry for cat-tail (bullrushes) in the safe plants list. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Must get in there and make some other additions and changes too.

Don't worry about the water quality where you harvested the cat-tails, Iggysbabysitter. It is spring fed and likely every bit as good as our well-water. My bunnies cleaned up all I gave them except a few of the round stems. I kept some back to dry to make sure they like them that way too.

 

[hoodat]

Thanks for clearing up the cat tail question. I have often looked at them and wondered but could never find anything definitive on line so I hesitated to feed them. I'll try some on my bunrabs and see what they think. My rabbits are fussier than most since they get so much clover. They tend to look on other greens as second class food.

 

[Iggysbabysitter]

In a search to determine the value of cat tails, I found the nutritional value page Yay!
willow leaves : 34 calories, 20% protien, 68% carb
cattail : 7 calories, 19% protien, 81% carb
Hmmm. MaggieJ, would the low cal count cause this to be a low value for winter feeding? Or would it all balance out once the rest of the diet is considered? (wheat+barley grains, BOSS, salt lick, willow branches, cattails, alfalfa blocks and hay, grass hay, carrots and various kitchen scraps).

 

[MaggieJ]

Interesting!

Can you post the link to that site with the nutritional info, Iggysbabysitter?

The rabbits approved the cattails, except for some of the lower parts of the stems. They didn't much care for the grape leaves I gave them yesterday, but most of them were mature. I'll bet they'll eat them in winter though!

I feel as long as the rabbits are getting a variety, the nutritional needs are likely being met. Rabbits have evolved to do well on fibrous, low calorie foods. Consuming the cecotropes really helps them extract maximum food value from their feed.

A good link for those who want to learn more:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

 

[Iggysbabysitter]

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/eth ... ds/10462/2

This is where I found the nutritional info... meant for the human consumtion parts... not really rabbit related foods, so no info about hay, twigs etc.

 

[MaggieJ]

Thanks for the link. The more info we can find, the better.

 

[DevonW]

I know Wild carrot (Queen Ann's Lace) seeds have traditionally been used for hundreds of years as a contraceptive in humans when taken orally after coitus. I was wondering if anyone knew if this also effects rabbits? I haven't been able to find anything that says it does or doesn't.

 

[MaggieJ]

Neither have I, Devon. Were you wondering about a possible application as bunny birth control for house rabbits? I personally would not chance it, since the seeds of Queen Anne's lace are considered toxic.

Sometimes the whole plant shows up on rabbit plant toxic lists (which is ridiculous when you consider that it is genetically the same as garden carrots) but the better lists mention what parts of plants are toxic, in this case the seeds. Toxic is not a very exact word used this way, but it is enough to make me cautious.