What to plant in a "rabbit garden?"

[FourRingCircus]

I am getting my rabbit area set up and would like to have a seating area along with a small garden (I have 4 children, 7 and under... it is going to be my retreat :lol: )... I am trying to figure out just what to plant! I am not opposed to even transplanting weeds - I don't want it to be horribly ugly or anything, but I do want it to be a quick and easy source of food for the rabbits. Sooo.... what should I include?

Here's the area:



Cages have been hung in the 3 sided shed area... the rest is open. I hope to put some shade cloth over the top, but we'll see if that happens. Not something I can feasibly do on my own...

 

[myrkari]

My 'rabbit garden' (not up and running yet; growing still) features intentionally planted comfrey (symphytum x uplandicum), borage (borago officinalis), alfalfa (medicago sativa), plantain (plantago major). It also has weeds that I've let grow because they're edible and handy and I can't get them out of my lawn anyway: dock (rumex obtusifolius, rumex crispus), dandelion, sticky-weed (gallium aparine), thistle (various!). I also have two big old hutches tipped over and turned into "planters" which have lots of herbs for my kitchen uses, but that are therefore available for bunny medicine. Oh, and daikon radishes, which they get the tops of but I get the root

Near my house, a huge amount of Cow Parsley (anthriscus sylvestris) grows wild, and I am tempted to harvest some seeds and transplant those around the edges.

I would like to feature raspberry canes but haven't really the room.

(I'm at work so finding proper names is awkward; I shall return and edit them in when I get home - done now)

 

[FourRingCircus]

Malabar spinach - Basella alba - seems like it would be OK? I had planned on growing some non-asian wysteria for shade, until I figured out it wasn't good for the rabbits. Maybe use the spinach vine instead?

We have plenty of dock weed (rumex?) - haven't tried it with the rabbits yet.

 

[MaggieJ]

Curly and broad-leafed dock (rumex spp.) are good for the rabbits when young. I don't feed them once they start to put up the flower stalk.

I suggest some lavender in case you ever had a doe in a stalled labour and mint and sage in case a doe loses her kits and you need to dry up her milk. Plantain and shepherd's purse are both excellent to stop diarrhea, as are the leaves of blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. It is a comfort to have these "first aid" plants readily available even if you never end up needing them.

Most of the plants in the Safe Plants sticky are easy to grow and excellent for rabbits. Latin names are also available there.
safe-plants-for-rabbits-list-t55.html