2011 Foraging

My conservatory is full of seedlings at the moment - I'm growing nasturtiums, fennel and dill. All for the bunsters and piglets of course :lol:.

ill be after bramble leaves, hawthorn leaves, wild rose leaves, dandelions and apple tree leaves

not very adventurous really :lol:

Just been to the garden centre and got some plants, basil mint, chocolate mint, wild strawberry, two types of thyme and parsley and got a fantastic book which is about herbs. Its got dandelions and blackberry and tells you there medicinal uses and has photographs of the plants. It was reduce to £1.99 at the Works. Is Feverfew and Heartsease OK for bunnies as they had the plants at the garden centre but wasn't sure. Heartease is very much like a viola?

I've just been outside to get some apple twigs actually

In my garden I've got dandelion, strawberry and leaves, apple twigs and leaves. I think we have some brambles as well. I might start growing some things soon

thumps_ said:

I'm ultra cautious with my bun & on here. If an insect has eaten part of the leaf it's OK, but if the blemish is caused by a fungus -rust or other disease - it can cause liver damage. So I don't use these leaves. I don't use curled/deformed leaves either. It could either be a sign of plant disease or worse that weed killer has been used.
We mustn't dry any blemished leaves, they can spoil the whole batch.

My rule of thumb is to ask "Would I eat these leaves - where they're gathered from & general appearance?" If the answer is no, I don't give them to my bun.

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Okay Can you tell me if lighter coloured spots on the leaves are blemishes or just a natural thing on the leaf?

Sebastian and Mae have both had a single bramble leaf today, and I've just caught Sebastian tummy pressing :? (hes now had some metacam and metaclop)

Last year I collected:

Blackberry leaves
Rasberry leaves
strawberry leaves
dandelion
plaintain
apple leaves

This year I want to extend it by loads But I'm a bit nervous about identifing wild plants Any one know of good sites that could help me with this?

Oh and last year I tried Barty with a nettle leaf and he lept back as if it had stung him, so I removed it immediatly. Have I got the wrong kind of nettle or something :?

my dads off all this week, I wonder if I can convince him that we need bunny friendly plants in the garden hmmm!

Georgeypudding said:

my dads off all this week, I wonder if I can convince him that we need bunny friendly plants in the garden hmmm!

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Hopefully


You can also get lots of good seeds by mail order - that's how I got my camomile and fenugreek Takes a bit longer but it's always satisfying growing something from seed

clutterydrawer said:

Hopefully


You can also get lots of good seeds by mail order - that's how I got my camomile and fenugreek Takes a bit longer but it's always satisfying growing something from seed

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Can I ask what site you get them from. I have used Jekkas before.

clutterydrawer said:

Hopefully


You can also get lots of good seeds by mail order - that's how I got my camomile and fenugreek Takes a bit longer but it's always satisfying growing something from seed

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Im currently working on getting him to relay some slabs for me so I wont push my luck just yet

I think if wild plants are something new to you, & you're going to collect a wide variety, you'd be well advised to buy a wild plant book. The 1st. thing you need to know are the very poisonous plants like hemlock, poison ivy etc & be sure you can identify them.
Rabbit nutrition has a good site for poisonous & safe plants on the siggy.

With human herb books we must always check that they're bunny safe.
Those we cook with are bunny safe except for the onion family / garlic / chives, but herbs we use medicinally like feverfew & probably comfrey aren't.

It's a fascinating subject. There is some variation in what is deemed to be bunny safe & what isn't. I also find that my own bun will eat certain plants at some times of the year & not others, or he'll eat them when his tummy is playing up but not at other times.
My bun eats totally different plants to PL's buns!

Yes, it's exciting & nice to get out to gather them, learning more about them & where they grow, but there's a lot out there, & we need to be sure what we're doing.

ETA We must always remember bunny principals too of not feeding them small hard seeds etc. too.

hurricanhoney said:

Can I ask what site you get them from. I have used Jekkas before.

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Chiltern Seeds We use them at work and they're very good.

I've also got some veg seeds from Plant World Seeds this year.

thumps_ said:

I think if wild plants are something new to you, & you're going to collect a wide variety, you'd be well advised to buy a wild plant book. The 1st. thing you need to know are the very poisonous plants like hemlock, poison ivy etc & be sure you can identify them.

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This, too. Be careful people! There are a lot of different plants out there, some are VERY dangerous both to humans and rabbits, and easy to muddle up.


I work with plants professionally and even so I found a type of deadly nightshade the other day that I didn't even recognise for what it was :shock:

Judy I have an interesting observation for you about brambles :wave:

Each bun was given one small fresh, deprickled leaf around lunch time. By dinner time Sebastian was tummy pressing :shock: so got a dose of Metacam and Metaclop. He's now pain free BUT there are malformed ceaco's on the floor :? Instead of a bunch of grapes, there are single grapes scattered around. Mae loved the leaf but Sebastian was reluctant to start with. He hasnt touched his willow either for pain killing :wave:


Weird :?

Georgeypudding said:

Judy I have an interesting observation for you about brambles :wave:

Each bun was given one small fresh, deprickled leaf around lunch time. By dinner time Sebastian was tummy pressing :shock: so got a dose of Metacam and Metaclop. He's now pain free BUT there are malformed ceaco's on the floor :? Instead of a bunch of grapes, there are single grapes scattered around. Mae loved the leaf but Sebastian was reluctant to start with. He hasnt touched his willow either for pain killing :wave:


Weird :?

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Thank you so much for posting your experience.

I'm sorry Sebastian has been poorly.
I noticed similar things with my bun which threw me at 1st. He'll suddenly eat lots of tree leaves in the evening & the next morning he'll have runny caecs, BUT all is back to normal by mid day although he carries on eating leaves. If I remove his leaves the runny caecs go on & on.

It LOOKS as though the leaves are responsible, but what is actually happening is that he feels unwell before there are any signs, takes the right action & only has a minor episode.
He's got superb instincts for what is good for him - way beyond my capabilities of understanding - I now know more about what his tummy is like by what he's eating.:shock:

Before I started advising bramble leaves I'd used them for my bun for over 4 years without probs.
I started to offer them to my bun because I'd seen wildies eat them, & knew they were the traditional remedy for scours (runny caecs/dysbiosis) particularly in Spring.
I also checked with a specialist bunny vet that they couldn't make a bunny worse however rare the diagnosis.
Only THEN did I suggest them for others.

I would say that many bunnies seem to instinctively know what they need to keep well, & if a bunny doesn't go crackers for a wild plant don't push it - it's not right for them. In fact most tummy bunnies prefer hawthorn leaves once they're mature, (My bun seems to need the big guns now)

In Sebastian's case I'd suspect that he was brewing up for a problem anyway - but I'm keeping an open mind on it.

I love this video of wildie babies eating old bramble leaves, & have seen them do so myself. It's so noticable that there's plenty of fresh leaf & grass around. I'd guess that they're so desparate for brambles cos they've got runny poops from the new grass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6zRr_EpyNE

Thanks again for posting please let me know how things go with Sebastian.

Yes it is quite probable he was brewing a tummy ache before hand and it was a coinsidence :roll: I dont have anymore nice leaves so I wont be giving them to him again just now.

I think I will still carry on collecting and drying bramble leaves though because Mae likes them and I have them just incase someone goes into stasis :thumb:

Ive discovered a large hawthorn bush aswell so I will try him on those

I was very surprised to see the results but I never thought that he could of been ill before hand anyway, you're a brilliant insight Judy

and squeee at the baby wildies Rabbits are such clever beings

Is it sad that I am looking forward to going to a herb centre in a few weeks to get some bits for my garden :lol:

Picked a load of dandies today they are getting quite big now.

I've been out in the garden potting up herbs and planting my seeds.

hurricanhoney said:

Is it sad that I am looking forward to going to a herb centre in a few weeks to get some bits for my garden :lol:

Picked a load of dandies today they are getting quite big now.

I've been out in the garden potting up herbs and planting my seeds.

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I think it's great. You can look forward to some exciting new tastes in your meals; even a sprig of parsley makes a baked potato look more appetising, as well as new food for the bunnies.

hurricanhoney said:

Just been to the garden centre and got some plants, basil mint, chocolate mint, wild strawberry, two types of thyme and parsley and got a fantastic book which is about herbs. Its got dandelions and blackberry and tells you there medicinal uses and has photographs of the plants. It was reduce to £1.99 at the Works. Is Feverfew and Heartsease OK for bunnies as they had the plants at the garden centre but wasn't sure. Heartease is very much like a viola?

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feverfew is mildly toxic - the flowers look very much like little daisies but the leaves are totally different to the daisy leaves
heartsease is same family as viola and pansy

rabbitnutrition said:

feverfew is mildly toxic - the flowers look very much like little daisies but the leaves are totally different to the daisy leaves
heartsease is same family as viola and pansy

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Are Pansy's okay for bunnies to eat? Flower only or whole plant?