Late Autumn leaves warning for outdoor/freeranging buns!

Just want to warn you all of a 'potential' gastric hazard from leaves that have blown down late in the season after the heavy winds and that have 'turned'. E.g. leaves that would normally be safe for your buns to indulge in such as apple/pear etc but that have gone yellow. Buns have a tendancy to scoff delicacies when the grass in particular has not grown much and isn't sweet with sugars as it is in Spring. Autumn leaves turn a different colour due to the breakdown of sugars in the leaf (I think :?) and these sugars may pose a risk for ileus/stasis just as Spring grass does.

Poppy has been having recurrent bouts of ileus but there is nothing wrong with her medically. We raked up the fallen apple leaves outside that she was scoffing on and she got better. Strong winds at the end of last week brought another load down and over the weekend and today she is showing signs of ileus again as we haven't yet had a chance to rake them up.

So do take care everyone :wave:

:wave:Thanks for the advice! :thumb:
Good luck with the bunsters.

Good point. Also the winds can bring leaves from other gardens in.

OMG!! thanks so much for posting this. I have been collecting up some of the leaves and actually giving them to the buns. Thank fully though I was only giving the ones that still looked nice and green but I dont think that OH has been so thought full. Plus as you say, they are blowing into the buns enclosure. I will definately take more care now.

Thanks again:thumb:

Oh, that's interesting. Spenser's last lot of leaves were pruned before the storm, but I should perhaps pick out the browner ones, especially as he has been unwell and his insides might be more delicate.

Great heads up PL, thank you, so much.

thanks for this.

I didn't realise yellow leaves were bad and have been picking them off the pear tree to feed to my buns!!! buns have been fine though thankfully. I swept up all the soggy dead leaves the other day so bunnies won't be able to scoff any at all now.

Are brown dried leaves OK? Ruby ate leads of these last year, as the run was placed under the tree so it was full of them. I just left her to it as I thought they were fine. No probs though, but if brown ones aren't good I will make sure she doesn't have any of these again either.

beki said:

thanks for this.

I didn't realise yellow leaves were bad and have been picking them off the pear tree to feed to my buns!!! buns have been fine though thankfully. I swept up all the soggy dead leaves the other day so bunnies won't be able to scoff any at all now.

Are brown dried leaves OK? Ruby ate leads of these last year, as the run was placed under the tree so it was full of them. I just left her to it as I thought they were fine. No probs though, but if brown ones aren't good I will make sure she doesn't have any of these again either.

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If they are brown because they were dried quickly from being green originally then they will be fine. Yellow/brown leaves in small amounts will also be fine, it's not that they are toxic, but just high in available sugar and just have a potential to cause dysbiosis - doesn't mean they actually will. Poppy has only been having problems because she literally goes out and stuffs her face with fallen apple leaves and then doesn't eat anything else all day :roll: As long as your bun is eating plenty of hay and other foods alongside any discoloured leaves they will be absolutely fine. Don't be put off feeding wild and foraged food - it's fab for buns and apple/pear leaves are very fibrous and excellent for poorly tummies either fresh or dried, just be careful with large quantities of yellowed leaves being consumed that's all. :wave:

thanks for the reply prettylupin! my bunnies eat a lot of hay also so this should all be fine phew

beki said:

thanks for the reply prettylupin! my bunnies eat a lot of hay also so this should all be fine phew

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Ditto thanks