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Stupid question....brambles!

esupi

esupi

Warren Veteran
Hiya!

Went out for a walk today, and passed lots of lovely brambles out in the woods - I know rabbits can eat them, so picked a bunch of leaves as treats for my two. BUT - i've never picked the leaves before, only the fruit, and had never thought about them being prickly (which I quickly realised - duh!). So - my stupid question is - how on earth do rabbits eat them without getting their little tongues all pricked?!

Thanks!
esupi
:)
 
im sure they are built to eat them but being super paranoid i prefer to get holes in my thumb de-thorning the leaves than risking any ouch to the buns :oops::oops:

my fingerprints are deffo different since i met bramble leaves :lol::lol::lol::lol:
 
Schuette said:
How?

I have a bramble leaf right here and I can't do it!

I normally don't bother, mine don't seem fussed.
Click to expand...

I fold the leaf in half, with the centre spine sticking out, then take the top of the stalk and 'peel' it down the spine - it takes the leaf vein off, along with the thorny bits. Hope that makes sense :)
 
Blackberry & Co said:
I fold the leaf in half, with the centre spine sticking out, then take the top of the stalk and 'peel' it down the spine - it takes the leaf vein off, along with the thorny bits. Hope that makes sense :)
Click to expand...

Ah I think I've got it, does the leaf tend to rip a little when you do it?
 
Mine don't seem to mind the thorns. They only hurt and prickle us because they are so tiny compared to our hands. A thorn is probably a similar size to a pencil for a small bunny, so it's not as sharp and pointy in comparison. Mine destroy the whole thing thorns and all, and only leave the biggest chunkiest bits.

Are your bunnies up to date with their vaccinations? I'd always be wary about picking wild things as you don't really know what's been around it and whether wild bunnies have been there, as there might be viruses, bacteria etc that could transfer.
 
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Thanks guys - good to know they don't mind the thorns - never thought about them being relatively big to a rabbit! not sure I would have had the patience (or pain threshold) to strip them all down.

Santa - yep bunnies totally up-to-date with their vacs - thanks for asking though as these are my first bunnies and while I'm totally paranoid about doing everything 'right' for them, it'd be very easy to just not know something.

:)
 
Santa...p.s. had thought the woods would be a good place to pick up treats as away from car fumes etc.....so just proves what I said above about not thinking of/knowing about everything!
 
I always pick the higher brambles to avoid dog wee etc.

Part of the reason that I pick the thorns of is because I dry some for winter, and the thorns feel even sharper when they're dried, so it saves my hands a lot of pain in the winter :lol:
 
Blackberry & Co said:
I always pick the higher brambles to avoid dog wee etc.

Part of the reason that I pick the thorns of is because I dry some for winter, and the thorns feel even sharper when they're dried, so it saves my hands a lot of pain in the winter :lol:
Click to expand...

i have found the de-thorning saves my feet too :lol::lol: ive stood barefoot on a bit of thorny bramble not eaten owww owww owwww
 
donnamt said:
i know it was Alvin too :evil::evil::lol::lol::lol:
Click to expand...

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

esupi, as Blackberry & Co has said, you'll be OK if you pick the leaves higher up. I use scissors/seceteurs, let them drop into my palm & tip into a bag.
 
Is it just the stalks/leaves that they can eat or do you feed the fruits too? There are loads of brambles growing down by the park I walk the dog.. I've never even thought of giving them to the buns before...

I'll be out under the cover of darkness tomorrow to pinch some!! :lol:
 
I fold the leaf and snip along the spine to cut the prickes off, took me ages today.
I never give my buns the fruits due to sugar content etc but you could make a pie/jam :D
 
Mine seem to have left the ones i haven't de-thorned so maybe they prefer them without the prickly bits.

I only pick what's over the allotment. I'll be honest, they don't get them that often :oops:
 
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