What's wrong with wilted greens?

[ladysown]

I've seen people mention in various places/times that wilted greens are a no go for rabbits.

I am wondering why.

Reason:
I have rabbits that will eat their greens immediately, and others that ALWAYS nibble a bit and then go sit away from the greens and once the greens have lost their freshness will eagerly gobble them up.

I have no issues with them doing so as it's their choice to do so and I figure they know what they are about.

So it just makes me curious, since they are as healthy as any other rabbit, why wilted greens are a no go?

 

[LPH_NY]

I want to know the answer to this as well. There are times that I can only forage once per day, though I like to offer greens twice per day. Even if I put them in the coolest room, I inevitably find some wilted by the next feeding and I feel compelled to throw them out because of the warnings I've seen.

And yeah, some of my rabbits won't eat all of the greens right away - especially the tougher grasses. They do come back to them later in the day, though. Anything that is still there at the next feeding gets tossed, but I know that on really warm days it only takes about 30 minutes for most of those greens to wilt.

 

[Dood]

Increased chance of rot and/or mold.

When making hay the plants will wilt but are quicky dried in the fresh air and sun. Hay that has been rained on, or even exposed to a heavy dew, is only edible by ruminants and even then some farmers won't buy it for their making cows or goats since they need a high quality feed and mold can taint the milk.

 

[MaggieJ]

Badly wilted greens are problematic for the reasons stated, but I have never worried about the greens sitting around for 12 hours of so. If they are not gone by then, you may be feeding too much. I have always removed anything uneaten by the next feeding (except willow which tends to dry before it wilts) and other than that I don't worry. Usually the greens are gone long before that.

 

[Marinea]

I, too, leave greens I put out until the next feeding. Most will be gone, but I notice with my buns that they tend to leave plantains and dandelions once they get wilted. Everything else is mostly gone.

 

[Miss M]

Same here... I don't feed a lot of greens, but when I do I don't worry about them wilting. I just take leftovers out at the next feeding.

I worried about it at first, because of the warnings you see, but some plants wilt really quickly. The only thing I could come up with as a reason for not feeding wilted plants was the possibility of mold, and they just weren't there long enough.

 

[Dood]

I've seen people mention in various places/times that wilted greens are a no go for rabbits.

I am wondering why.

Reason:
I have rabbits that will eat their greens immediately, and others that ALWAYS nibble a bit and then go sit away from the greens and once the greens have lost their freshness will eagerly gobble them up.

I have no issues with them doing so as it's their choice to do so and I figure they know what they are about.

So it just makes me curious, since they are as healthy as any other rabbit, why wilted greens are a no go?

After an enlightening conversation with a woman who thought cabbage and corn stalks are suitable as the main diet for rabbits because that's what her parent fed their rabbits dont you know :groooan: I think the "no wilted greens" is promoted for CLUELESS people who want to empty out their fridge crisper and give the wilted (and/or slimy ) veg and fruit to their rabbits rather than "wasting it" or who only feed and water their rabbits once a week so don't have the time to check if bunnies Monday night carrot is supporting a healthy colony of fungus by Saturday.

 

[ladysown]

okay, so I will worry not.

Slimy get tossed (ick).
bendy they can eat as they will.

Anything left beyond 24 hours is gross anyways and the rabbits won't eat it.

 

[akane]

If it wilts out in open air like in the cage then it should be fine. I think the warning comes from people keeping vegetables in the fridge in plastic or bundled up. The parts that get damaged or just old will grow bacteria and mold. A tightly packed garden could also have some bad areas on bruised or wilted greens and vegetables, especially down close to the ground. Tougher, drier stuff like mature grasses and many wildflowers will also not as easily get gooey, moldy, etc... The low sugar and low moisture content keeps much of the nasty stuff away and the wilted sections don't turn to goo.

 

[michaels4gardens]

There is no problem feeding wilted greens, and they are recommended in many older rabbit books, -but use common sense, if they are rotting, molding, or getting slimy , they are good for a compost heap.

 

[Zass]

There are a couple plants, like cherry and sweet clover that can become especially dangerous when wilted. It's more of a pasture danger for large livestock, since I don't believe those are common rabbit forage plants.