MimzMum
Wise Old Thumper
I hope this is in the correct section, if not if an admin or mod would kindly move it to where you think it should go I'd be much obliged.
I have a dilemma and not certain how to approach it.
For the last 7 or 8 years I have plucked assorted hayseed/long grass and things like plantain and dandelions from my backyard. The people who lived here before us had horses and so lots of good horsey food still grows here. Especially over the leach field. :roll:
I'm always very careful to take our forage from well away from any place that the dogs may have used as a toilet, where cars have been parked or where the soil appears to be infested with ants and other burrowing insects. I realize I can't catch everything that 'dirties' in my yard so of course anything I feed to the bunnies is well washed. We do not use pesticides and as far as I know neither do my neighbors.
I am not great with plant i.d., but I can tell we have growing here: lesser plantain, wild strawberries, dandelions of course, and the long grass is some of the first food I gave to Mimzy when he came to live with us. As long as I am careful not to give too much at one time, all three of my bunnies tolerate this extra food well and it seems to make them happy to have it even if only as a treat. In the last few years we've been so dry here that none of this is showing until late in the season, almost right up against when snow falls again. I will have to water my yard this year if I want to see anything come up in a reasonable time.
That is just back-story, my question is this...there are at least 3 house/farmed rabbits running about loose in my yard this year and I can't catch them and have to guess to whom they belong if I did. (I have a sneaking suspicion I know and if I am right it is a lost cause.) Since I don't know the health of these rabbits, is it possible that they will leave anything viral in my yard on my forage that can't be cleaned well enough? Is the forage now unsafe for my rabbits to eat because of this? Or do I just wash well and carry on as before? And should I be worried about any wild rabbits also soiling the greens before I give them to the bunnies? (The only rabbit-borne pathogen I think we need to worry about here is something called tularemia, but that is a scary enough prospect. The last case I know about was in 2013 and I'm not sure where in the Interior the rabbit was originally found.)
I do not mean this to be a thread about catching and rehoming stray, former pet rabbits. Of course this would be the ideal solution, but I'm not sure the SPCA would even venture this far out to trap a bunny suspected of being ill. The three I've seen appear to be healthy enough, save for one who may have ear mites. I hate that they are out there running around, but it's a good bet that even if I could return them to the right owner, (which would make me want to scream inside), they'd be wandering about again by evening. :evil: And if I just turned them into the shelter I will either face 'retribution' from said owner and/or they will just get more to replace the ones lost and into the wild they will go again.
I know this point of view makes me sound pathetic, but I'm trying to think of the safety of myself and my household...I have lost dogs to neighbors here before (antifreeze poisoning) just for them barking. I can't trust anyone as far as I can throw them.
So... should I go foraging far afield, forget about foraging altogether or continue picking from my own yard and just hope I am cleaning the greens well enough to keep my three very loved and cared for bunnies from harm?
Many thanks in advance! xxxx
I have a dilemma and not certain how to approach it.
For the last 7 or 8 years I have plucked assorted hayseed/long grass and things like plantain and dandelions from my backyard. The people who lived here before us had horses and so lots of good horsey food still grows here. Especially over the leach field. :roll:
I'm always very careful to take our forage from well away from any place that the dogs may have used as a toilet, where cars have been parked or where the soil appears to be infested with ants and other burrowing insects. I realize I can't catch everything that 'dirties' in my yard so of course anything I feed to the bunnies is well washed. We do not use pesticides and as far as I know neither do my neighbors.
I am not great with plant i.d., but I can tell we have growing here: lesser plantain, wild strawberries, dandelions of course, and the long grass is some of the first food I gave to Mimzy when he came to live with us. As long as I am careful not to give too much at one time, all three of my bunnies tolerate this extra food well and it seems to make them happy to have it even if only as a treat. In the last few years we've been so dry here that none of this is showing until late in the season, almost right up against when snow falls again. I will have to water my yard this year if I want to see anything come up in a reasonable time.
That is just back-story, my question is this...there are at least 3 house/farmed rabbits running about loose in my yard this year and I can't catch them and have to guess to whom they belong if I did. (I have a sneaking suspicion I know and if I am right it is a lost cause.) Since I don't know the health of these rabbits, is it possible that they will leave anything viral in my yard on my forage that can't be cleaned well enough? Is the forage now unsafe for my rabbits to eat because of this? Or do I just wash well and carry on as before? And should I be worried about any wild rabbits also soiling the greens before I give them to the bunnies? (The only rabbit-borne pathogen I think we need to worry about here is something called tularemia, but that is a scary enough prospect. The last case I know about was in 2013 and I'm not sure where in the Interior the rabbit was originally found.)
I do not mean this to be a thread about catching and rehoming stray, former pet rabbits. Of course this would be the ideal solution, but I'm not sure the SPCA would even venture this far out to trap a bunny suspected of being ill. The three I've seen appear to be healthy enough, save for one who may have ear mites. I hate that they are out there running around, but it's a good bet that even if I could return them to the right owner, (which would make me want to scream inside), they'd be wandering about again by evening. :evil: And if I just turned them into the shelter I will either face 'retribution' from said owner and/or they will just get more to replace the ones lost and into the wild they will go again.
I know this point of view makes me sound pathetic, but I'm trying to think of the safety of myself and my household...I have lost dogs to neighbors here before (antifreeze poisoning) just for them barking. I can't trust anyone as far as I can throw them.
So... should I go foraging far afield, forget about foraging altogether or continue picking from my own yard and just hope I am cleaning the greens well enough to keep my three very loved and cared for bunnies from harm?
Many thanks in advance! xxxx