Sweet potatoes?

[trinityoaks]

Can rabbits eat sweet potatoes? If so, do I need to cook them and/or peel them?

I have a sweet potato (uncooked) that I ran out of time to prepare for Christmas dinner. Only a couple of family members eat them, and neither will be home until the end of the month.

 

[MaggieJ]

Better than feeding it directly to the buns, why not grow it on a windowsill and cut the vines for them... Sweet potato vines are an awesome winter food for the buns. I believe the tuber itself is okay to feed in small amounts, but it is very sweet and they are probably better off without it.

http://community.vibrantnation.com/our- ... et-potato/

 

[avdpas77]

I grew a lot more sweet potatoes than I needed this summer, just for the vines. They love the vines and the potatoes also. When I dug them in the fall I had numerous tubers(?) that ranged from pencil size up to a couple of inches in diameter that were too small to save especially since we had more large potatoes than we needed anyway. I would give a section of the small ones to each rabbit, or slice a larger one an give a slice to each rabbit for a treat. A slice of sweet potato is fine and not enough to cause any kind of gastric distress caused by too much of a fresh food all at once. I bow to Miss Margret's advice on feeding any in large amounts.

 

[MaggieJ]

Ahem... Miss Margret? Who the heck is she??? :lol:

If you've fed small amounts of fresh sweet potato with no ill effects, Frank, that's good enough for me.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

Thanks for the idea of growing the vines on the windowsill!!!

 

[MaggieJ]

You can grow grain grass (I find wheat the easiest) on the windowsill, too, Lauren. You'll have a crop in about 2 weeks and can get 2-3 cuttings before you need to start over.

 

[trinityoaks]

Thanks, y'all! I hadn't even thought about sprouting it. Would be a good little science project for my youngest, as well.

Maggie, I've been wanting to grow some grain grass, also, but need to find suitable containers. What do you use? My buns spill a bit of grain that I could scoop up and grow, and that would give a mix of grain grasses for them.

 

[MaggieJ]

I use dollar store rectangular dishpans, but window-boxes would also work well. The dishpans are a bit wide for a standard window sill, but they really only need full light for a day or so before harvesting so I just keep them on shelves until then. I don't put drainage holes in them and I only use about two inches of soil. Sow thickly with the grain, cover lightly with soil, press down firmly and keep moist but not wet. If you have chickens, the spent thatch of roots and stubble will give them something to pick over when you are ready to start fresh.

 

[trinityoaks]

I use dollar store rectangular dishpans, but window-boxes would also work well.

Thanks! Hmmm. . . something to add to my rabbit barn plans--a nice, big window shelf for grain-grass trays! Or maybe a built-in greenhouse section. . . Oooooohhh. . .

 

[MaggieJ]

Get the trays first, then build the shelf to accommodate them.

 

[trinityoaks]

Get the trays first, then build the shelf to accommodate them.

Oh, yes! I plan to get the trays in the next month or so. The rabbit barn won't be built until after we move.

 

[LASGSD]

Can you grow these during the cold weather or only in warm months?

 

[MaggieJ]

LASGSD, sweet potato vines and grain grasses can be grown indoors on windowsills in winter. In the summer, there are plenty of outdoor sources of fresh, free greens, but in winter the buns sure do like having green snacks from windowsill gardens.