Cottie
Well-known member
Northern Illinois weed ID. Comments are with each photo.
Weed ID please!
- Thread starter Cottie
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stone soup farm
Well-known member
Pretty sure # 2 is lambs quarter, also know as goosefoot or pigweed. # 4 might be a wild carnation. I have seen it before but can't place it? The rest I have no idea. Good luck.
#! is common mallow. Good for rabbits.
#2 is lamb's quarters. Also good, especially when young.
#3 is likely hen's bit... unless it smells kind of minty, in which case it is likely ground ivy. I don't feed it.
#4 could be some kind of dianthus. I don't feed these.
#5 There are several plants in this picture. Can't identify them at this stage.
#6 This could be another kind of mallow. Not sure. Do the blue flowers belong to it?
#2 is lamb's quarters. Also good, especially when young.
#3 is likely hen's bit... unless it smells kind of minty, in which case it is likely ground ivy. I don't feed it.
#4 could be some kind of dianthus. I don't feed these.
#5 There are several plants in this picture. Can't identify them at this stage.
#6 This could be another kind of mallow. Not sure. Do the blue flowers belong to it?
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
#2 is Lamb's Quarter. My buns like it. 
#3 Hen'sbit. I have that here too. The compost likes it.
#4 is very pretty. I think they sell it at nurseries here. If I see it again, I will find out what it is.
#5 no idea.
The last one looks similar to the mallow I get here:
The flowers look like this:
It is sometimes called "cheeseweed" because the seed heads look like this:
#3 Hen'sbit. I have that here too. The compost likes it.
#4 is very pretty. I think they sell it at nurseries here. If I see it again, I will find out what it is.
#5 no idea.
The last one looks similar to the mallow I get here:
The flowers look like this:
It is sometimes called "cheeseweed" because the seed heads look like this:
Is there a reason you don't feed the hens bit? I have found at least one source saying that it is fine to feed to rabbits, but I'm much more inclined to trust your personal experience. I have TONS of it here.
mizemama":2mq2b5qs said:
I'd love to feed it to the buns, if I could be sure it is safe. If you can find your source that says it is, please post it. Our land has such an abundance of safe, palatable weeds... so we just by-pass anything questionable. Not everyone is so fortunately situated. In spite of this, I'm always glad to add a new weed to increase the variety, something I feel is important.
Cottie
Well-known member
'MaggieJ":3ozexsyf said:
Here's #5 again.
The plant in the background (with a ?) looks similar to 6 and 1. The blue flowers to not belong to 6. They belong to catmint.
Thought the lettuce looked like lettuce, but since it is a weed thread...
The plants with the ? are still too young for me to identify. The one in the background could be a mallow, like 1 and 6. I'm quite sure 6 is a mallow, as MSD said. I seem to remember we had this conversation last year! There are many, many mallows and as far as I know they are all good for rabbits.
The plants with the ? are still too young for me to identify. The one in the background could be a mallow, like 1 and 6. I'm quite sure 6 is a mallow, as MSD said. I seem to remember we had this conversation last year!
There are many, many mallows and as far as I know they are all good for rabbits.Here's one:
http://thedancingfarmer.com/2011/03/23/food-for-thought-and-rabbits/
I thought I had found some others, but can't seem to find them now.<br /><br />__________ Mon Jun 10, 2013 11:56 am __________<br /><br />I know that source isn't exactly scientific evidence. I did find some things saying people choose to not feed it, but not really a reason why.
http://thedancingfarmer.com/2011/03/23/food-for-thought-and-rabbits/
I thought I had found some others, but can't seem to find them now.<br /><br />__________ Mon Jun 10, 2013 11:56 am __________<br /><br />I know that source isn't exactly scientific evidence. I did find some things saying people choose to not feed it, but not really a reason why.
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
mizemama":corsal7u said:
Because I get most of my weed advice here, and none of our members had experience feeding it.
mizemama":corsal7u said:
Interesting... :hmm: we can eat it too. She mentions it "grows so fast"- mine doesn't. They stay small.
I will see if I can find some- I have some buns that are "riding the bus" tomorrow, so they can test it for me.
MaggieJ":corsal7u said:I'm quite sure 6 is a mallow, as MSD said. I seem to remember we had this conversation last year!
We did!
I posted the very same pics, too.
Although I did crop the seed pic to focus more closely on the seed heads.
It does sound as though henbit is okay for rabbits, since the Dancing Farmer has evidently been feeding it for some time. If you decide to give it a try, phase it in and/or use a "test rabbit" for safety of your main herd. The Lamium family is not noted for toxicity... so it is definitely worth looking into... especially if it is invasive in your locality. It is not particularly invasive here... another reason I have not considered it too closely.
Cottie
Well-known member
So it seems like the one not to feed is the flowers.
We're finishing up the tractor soon (please, Lord, let it be soon, I'm so sick of this project!). I wanted to make sure there was nothing exceptionally toxic in my yard. The only other thing I have are "prickle bushes" which I think are some kind of thistle. I doubt they'd eat that though - it stings pretty bad when you touch it.<br /><br />__________ Mon Jun 10, 2013 12:50 pm __________<br /><br />
I've been trying to figure out what tree I can give them leaves from! I've got willow, oak, black walnut and...something I can't identify. Good to know they can get the willow clippings!
We're finishing up the tractor soon (please, Lord, let it be soon, I'm so sick of this project!). I wanted to make sure there was nothing exceptionally toxic in my yard. The only other thing I have are "prickle bushes" which I think are some kind of thistle. I doubt they'd eat that though - it stings pretty bad when you touch it.<br /><br />__________ Mon Jun 10, 2013 12:50 pm __________<br /><br />
I can feed willow?!ChickiesnBunnies":3nca1lup said:
I've been trying to figure out what tree I can give them leaves from! I've got willow, oak, black walnut and...something I can't identify. Good to know they can get the willow clippings!
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
RJSchaefer":2gevlrbc said:I can feed willow?!
:lol:
I recently bought 3 weeping willows for future bunny fodder!
They can also eat mulberry. I bought one weeping and 3 Pakistan mulberries.
Cottie
Well-known member
I miss my mulberries. My parents had 3 (then 5, thanks birds!) on their property. The farmer cut one down - without our permission it was "intruding" on his corn - one was male, never produced, and the other was played out. The other two sprouted up in pine trees and never produced much.
I should head over to pop's house and see if he has any berries...maybe I could bury them somewhere and hope for free trees. =)
I should head over to pop's house and see if he has any berries...maybe I could bury them somewhere and hope for free trees. =)
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
RJSchaefer":oowlm903 said:
According to a "nursery man", the ones grown from seed are nowhere near as productive as grafted trees- but if your main goal is leaves and branches that wouldn't matter much.
mizemama wrote:
MaggieJ wrote:
There is another plant here that looks a little like henbit from a distance... same growth habit and purple colored flowers in the spring. I think we identified it as "dead nettle". I don't think many people suggest either one, so I say away from both of them. I know I have got a bit of each from time to time when harvesting chickweed... Didn't poison anything, so I guess it is not highly toxic.
There is another plant growing here in the Midwest that looks a lot like lamb's quarters. From this top view I can not be sure which it is. I don't know if the other plant is toxic or not. If I find some of it around, maybe we can identify it and check. It is usually a paler green than lamb's quarters.
MaggieJ wrote:
There is another plant here that looks a little like henbit from a distance... same growth habit and purple colored flowers in the spring. I think we identified it as "dead nettle". I don't think many people suggest either one, so I say away from both of them. I know I have got a bit of each from time to time when harvesting chickweed... Didn't poison anything, so I guess it is not highly toxic.
There is another plant growing here in the Midwest that looks a lot like lamb's quarters. From this top view I can not be sure which it is. I don't know if the other plant is toxic or not. If I find some of it around, maybe we can identify it and check. It is usually a paler green than lamb's quarters.
I'm quite confident that the OP's picture is lamb's quarters (Chenopodium alba), but the Chenopodium family is large and some will hibridize, making identification difficult. As far as I know, all are safe but some may be less palatable. I also feed another member of this family with narrower leaves and have had no problems.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenopodium_album
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenopodium_album
MamaSheepdog...PLEASE try it on your buns. I have none that I am willing to risk right now. I have 3 Silver Fox bunnies that I drove several hours to get and I'm just waiting for them to get old enough to make me some baby bunnies. Then I'll be more willing to test things on them.
Cottie
Well-known member
So glad I looked at this thread again! I found a bunch with narrower leaves, that look nothing like the "real" lamb's quarters, and couldn't locate an image anywhere online. Huzzah! My whole weed garden is safe! Now if only my peas would grow.MaggieJ":21xjejpy said:
