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Mouldy Apples

supersonic

supersonic

Mama Doe
We have an apple tree that gives us an amazing crop of apples each year. We try to keep on top of removing windfall, but during and after bad weather it's quite difficult to do so. Sonic free ranges (supervised) but has a habit of sneaking under the apple tree, where we always find him eating the windfall... but it's never the lovely crunchy apples that are suitable for human consumption, it's always the soggy brown ones that are halfway composted!

Now I know the answer is 'pick up windfall more often and stop him eating them', but I don't think any people realise how headstrong my rabbit is, he will just keep going back to the mushy apples! AND it's so difficult to keep on top of the windfall towards the end of the season. He was eating one today that I thought looked ok until I got close :mrgreen:

Anyone else had this? Do they get drunk from fermenting apples?!
 
My rabbits live outside but do not free range in the garden so we don't have this problem. I would always try to prevent them eating mouldy apples as I don't think they would be very kind on their tummies. However, our chickens regularly feast on them and seem none the worse for it, although obviously their digestion is different. I think also it has been shown that some wildbirds get "drunk" from eating fermented fruits and berries.
 
supersonic said:
We have an apple tree that gives us an amazing crop of apples each year. We try to keep on top of removing windfall, but during and after bad weather it's quite difficult to do so. Sonic free ranges (supervised) but has a habit of sneaking under the apple tree, where we always find him eating the windfall... but it's never the lovely crunchy apples that are suitable for human consumption, it's always the soggy brown ones that are halfway composted!

Now I know the answer is 'pick up windfall more often and stop him eating them', but I don't think any people realise how headstrong my rabbit is, he will just keep going back to the mushy apples! AND it's so difficult to keep on top of the windfall towards the end of the season. He was eating one today that I thought looked ok until I got close :mrgreen:

Anyone else had this? Do they get drunk from fermenting apples?!
Click to expand...

Yes of course pick up as many as you can, but to be honest, I have this every year with apples and pears. It's virtually impossible to keep them away from stuff they shouldn't have when they free range.

I caught one of mine munching up a chive plant, to say nothing of the other stuff I had planted on my patio :roll:

Is he slurring his words this evening? :lol:
 
MightyMax said:
Yes of course pick up as many as you can, but to be honest, I have this every year with apples and pears. It's virtually impossible to keep them away from stuff they shouldn't have when they free range.

I caught one of mine munching up a chive plant, to say nothing of the other stuff I had planted on my patio :roll:

Is he slurring his words this evening? :lol:
Click to expand...

I don't think he had quite enough to affect him :lol: Why do you think they like the taste?

We had family round last summer and my mum had bought some garden chalk for my cousins to draw on the wall and my grandad goes "...Sophie, is your rabbit supposed to be eating that?"
The answer was no, he was eating the chalk :roll: I walked over and tried to shoo him away and he just looked at me and took another bite!
 
supersonic said:
I don't think he had quite enough to affect him :lol: Why do you think they like the taste?

We had family round last summer and my mum had bought some garden chalk for my cousins to draw on the wall and my grandad goes "...Sophie, is your rabbit supposed to be eating that?"
The answer was no, he was eating the chalk :roll: I walked over and tried to shoo him away and he just looked at me and took another bite!
Click to expand...


I think you've answered your own question. Because they are naughty :lol:

They are little defiant creatures who always want the upper hand ... That's why we love them. For their independent personalities :D
 
He'll get drunk :D

I would have thought if they was upsetting his tummy they would have done the 1st time?
 
ugh fermented fruit is absolutely revolting (and I say that as a huge fruit lover!), me and my brother were actually just talking about fermented fruit like yesterday and how digusting it is that wine is made from it. I don't know why he'd want to eat the spoiled apples when there's nice ones on the ground too :shock: then again, it seems a lot of animals are attracted to it for some reason :?
 
supersonic said:
We have an apple tree that gives us an amazing crop of apples each year. We try to keep on top of removing windfall, but during and after bad weather it's quite difficult to do so. Sonic free ranges (supervised) but has a habit of sneaking under the apple tree, where we always find him eating the windfall... but it's never the lovely crunchy apples that are suitable for human consumption, it's always the soggy brown ones that are halfway composted!

Now I know the answer is 'pick up windfall more often and stop him eating them', but I don't think any people realise how headstrong my rabbit is, he will just keep going back to the mushy apples! AND it's so difficult to keep on top of the windfall towards the end of the season. He was eating one today that I thought looked ok until I got close :mrgreen:

Anyone else had this? Do they get drunk from fermenting apples?!
Click to expand...

Just yesterday I was cleaning up apples around the tree and came upon a wild rabbit just sitting there
He seemed comatose, didn’t run off
He would try to get up when a loud car drove by but would collapse and sit motionless.
I have pictures and a video but there doesn’t appear to be a way to do that here.
I placed a cardboard box over him because the deer and coyotes have been known to feed from the orchard trees.
The next morning he was gone. He did an all nighter.
Apparently apple seeds contain small amounts of cyanide which can be harmful if consumed in large quantities.
Not sure that is the case here but you never know.
 
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Tsimshianman said:
Apparently apple seeds contain small amounts of cyanide which can be harmful if consumed in large quantities.
Not sure that is the case here but you never know.
Click to expand...

More likely it was just the alcohol. You would need to stuff a rabbit with A LOT of appleseeds to get an effect from the cyanide, like enough to make them explode first ;). I would think it doesn't take much to make souch a small animal tipsy, estimated from what it takes me to get there that would be about 2-3g of alcohol for a 3lbs rabbit. That's not much, and the positive effect is that alcohol prevents mold.
 
My bunnies at our previous home loved the stinking rotten apples that fell off the tree, I was always picking them up. Never made them sick.
 
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