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Forage and plant properties
- Thread starter MichG
- Start date
rabbitnutrition
Alpha Buck
that's good to hear
come and have a look at our fb group if you like, plenty on there :wave:
susie bun
Wise Old Thumper
Yep forage every day
Grass is avaliable all year round and I am lucky here that there are always a few places the frost doesn't reach so can pick a few other nice things.
I do try not to pick whilst the frost is on the ground, but by midday it has usually thawed
I am very lucky where I live, we only had our first frost this morning
Wow, that must be wonderful for your bunnies! :thumb:
Geoff's people
Alpha Buck
I will do
Brilliant thread...been little quite here...but still been busy harvetsing hawthorn and apple leaves / branches and plantain...would be VERY interest in any blogs and also will def. join rabbit nutrition on FB! yeah! Would be hugely beneficial to have a print off version we could stick on our fridges thats gives us each month of the year with what to harvest and what to plant when. Just an idea...and of course if there was room also the medicinal effects....
Was thinking along a sort of landscape printoff...:wave:
Was thinking along a sort of landscape printoff...
:wave:MichG, you asked about the medicinal properties of plants. Rabbits usually know what they need, or soon find out!
Throughout his life we all thought that the nerve supply to Thumper's gut was packing in but at pm we found he had a very rare form of TB (Thank goodness he wasn't diagnosed while alive or he'd have had to be pts. He lived with his TB for 6 years, & looked in excellent condition throughout)
Benjie has pastuerellosis. He's had no recurrence of abcesses but still has very mild snuffles.
Both buns chose an almost identical very limited diet! :shock: their mainstay being greater plantain, ribwort plantain over autumn & winter & dandelions in summer.
Although GP & RP are said to be virtually identical both buns distinguish between the 2.
I've struggled with the modern research papers for the last few days. This is what I've found out about the proven medicinal properties of greater plantain.
anti inflammatory -pain relief & reduces tissue swelling.
antimicrobial - possibly effective against TB too!
antiviral - boosts the immune system especially T cells.
haemostatic - stems bleeding from wounds, encourages new skin growth. (Makes it good for ulcers & especially mouth ulcers)
decongestant & expectorant - (helps snuffles!) & respiratory tract infections in humans.
mild diuretic
stops diarrhoea & sooths inflammation of both small & large bowel
Antitoxin - good for plant stings & insect bites. (I can personally vouch for nettle stings - brilliant only thing that works!)
Antoxidant - prevents cancers.
No wonder both my buns went crackers for it.
However what I do, is to allow them as much as they want, hoping to keep them healthy.
If they become seriously ill, I go to the vet. & get a bit of help from orthodox meds!
ETA the mucilage acts as a gut lubricant & helps buns with megacolon type issues.
Throughout his life we all thought that the nerve supply to Thumper's gut was packing in but at pm we found he had a very rare form of TB (Thank goodness he wasn't diagnosed while alive or he'd have had to be pts. He lived with his TB for 6 years, & looked in excellent condition throughout)
Benjie has pastuerellosis. He's had no recurrence of abcesses but still has very mild snuffles.
Both buns chose an almost identical very limited diet! :shock: their mainstay being greater plantain, ribwort plantain over autumn & winter & dandelions in summer.
Although GP & RP are said to be virtually identical both buns distinguish between the 2.
I've struggled with the modern research papers for the last few days. This is what I've found out about the proven medicinal properties of greater plantain.
anti inflammatory -pain relief & reduces tissue swelling.
antimicrobial - possibly effective against TB too!
antiviral - boosts the immune system especially T cells.
haemostatic - stems bleeding from wounds, encourages new skin growth. (Makes it good for ulcers & especially mouth ulcers)
decongestant & expectorant - (helps snuffles!) & respiratory tract infections in humans.
mild diuretic
stops diarrhoea & sooths inflammation of both small & large bowel
Antitoxin - good for plant stings & insect bites. (I can personally vouch for nettle stings - brilliant only thing that works!)
Antoxidant - prevents cancers.
No wonder both my buns went crackers for it.
However what I do, is to allow them as much as they want, hoping to keep them healthy.
If they become seriously ill, I go to the vet. & get a bit of help from orthodox meds!
ETA the mucilage acts as a gut lubricant & helps buns with megacolon type issues.
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wow - Judy - thats really interesting...thanks for sharing!
Thanks chelle. I was astounded by it. I'd heard of it as a "cure all" in history, & just dismissed it as myth.
I'm a great cynic about medicines! "Once the fad wears off it won't be that much different to anything else, & the full range of side effects have yet to appear!"
I started to wonder what was going on when Benjie selected the same diet as Thumper & it was a bit unnerving.
They were "meaty research papers" I found too - my brain aches!!!:lol:
Now I'm wondering whether to add it to my own diet.:shock:
I know for a start I'll have to chop mine finely - my teeth don't make any impression on those fibrous veins!:lol:
chomp chomp....haa hahaaa! Maybe its good for us too...
Ive read the greater plantain tatses abit bitter..lol...!
Heres a recipe using ribwort plantain...
http://www.countrylovers.co.uk/wfs/data/plantain.pdf
"meaty research" sounds exhausting....thank goodness youre able to explain to us!:lol:
I wonder if ribwort plantain also has the same medicinal properties as greater plantain?
Ive read the greater plantain tatses abit bitter..lol...!
Heres a recipe using ribwort plantain...
http://www.countrylovers.co.uk/wfs/data/plantain.pdf
"meaty research" sounds exhausting....thank goodness youre able to explain to us!:lol:
I wonder if ribwort plantain also has the same medicinal properties as greater plantain?
chomp chomp....haa hahaaa! Maybe its good for us too...
Ive read the greater plantain tatses abit bitter..lol...!
Heres a recipe using ribwort plantain...
http://www.countrylovers.co.uk/wfs/data/plantain.pdf
"meaty research" sounds exhausting....thank goodness youre able to explain to us!:lol:
I wonder if ribwort plantain also has the same medicinal properties as greater plantain?
I was surprised that we've been using it for 4,000 years. The Swedes used it initially to stop bleeding - that'll be the bitter tannins in it. Although it's originally a European plant, wherever we went, so did greater plantain. It's been used medicinally world wide for all sorts of things, & there seems to be some basis behind it too!!
In all the literature I've seen there seems to be little difference either in nutrients or medicinal properties between ribwort & greater plantain. Ribwort is said to have slightly more pain relief & anti inflammatory effect of the 2.
Both Benjie & Thumper treat them as though they're totally different plants, with definite preference for one over the other at different times. I've no idea what's going on there.
Willi55am
The correct use of plants medicinally to treat illness is so skilled, & requires so much knowledge, I wouldn't want to mislead anyone into thinking I have those skills at even the smallest level.
I do know that it often involves collecting the correct part of the plant a the right stage of its growth & even at the right time of day/weather conditions. There's the whole preparation process, chosing the correct method of preparation, & finally correct dose.
All we're doing on here is foraging for plants which wild buns normally eat along with their basic diet of grass.
It started when little Thumper's gut was so bad, I couldn't feed him & vets couldn't help. In desperation I worked out what the local wildies were eating & with a few faint memmories from my childhood when it was normal to feed our buns forage, I quite literally put down an armful of different plants & asked him to sort himself out, cos I didn't know what to give him. Thumper made his selection & I'd get it in for him!! He lived a further 4 years with the help of continuous drugs for his last 18months!!!
Thumper was the 1st. rabbit known to have that particular type of TB of the gut, & lived for 6 years with it.
Benjie has snuffles + pasteurella abscesses. Although presented with lots of variety, Benjie rapidly adopted an almost identical diet to Thumper. Benjie has his daily bisolvon, & if his snuffles gets bad, ABx too.
What I'm doing with my rabbits is simply feeding them. THEY are making very definite food choices, so I started to wonder why? I do know that with rabbits it's not that they like the taste of something, it's that they know what's good for them when it comes to wild food. They may eat plantain for some totally different reason from what we know about. I wish to goodness I could ask them but would probably get a reply "Makes me feel good stoopid. Why do you eat your muck?". :lol:
MichG
Mama Doe
Brilliant, thanks so much for all your amazing info
I am going to go on the hunt for Plantain!
Does it work as well dried?
I can't say for all the properties but Benjie prefers it dried. I should say that it's so stringy like celery, that I'd cut up the big leaves when fresh but they're OK whole when dry.
Judy - very interesting reading! I wish I knew too what they think...and your reply of makes me feel good is just right!:lol: unless of course in bunny world they also all have different careers as such!
Ive just started a thread asking about drying alot of ribwort plantain...brilliant really - OH Dad planted a meadow field in his garden...they thought they would get pretty wild flowers....what has come up is ALOT of plantain! :lol: so harvest i am! Now stuck drying it all..also there is another plant thats seems
to be spreading and growing everywhere...so gathered aload of that to ask on here what it is etc...need ot take pics first!
I think that the 1st. thing to do is to cut out as much stress as possible, especially for stasis prone buns & those with infections. TBH it took me ages to become stress aware for my buns.
NOT forage in the UK but from a plant, I use echinacea, 1 pinch daily from a human capsule, cos Benjie is a very nervous bun. It's done wonders for him behaviourally, cos he's been very withdrawn, & I'm convinced that it keeps his snuffles under better control. It would also help nervous buns prone to stasis.
I think it's also important to be aware that eg Willow has a lot of aspirin like substances in it, as does yarrow. If a bun is devouring lots of willow they usually have pain somewhere & need a vet. Similarly if they're on metacam, don't let them have too much willow.
I've said how I started with mine.
I'd look at the rabbit safe plants you can get easily, & maybe start by typing in the latin name for the plant in Wickipaedia to get an overview. Remember the culinary herbs too (never ever use the onion family - garlic/chives etc -they're poisonous to rabbits.) Next step offer them some.
I've noticed that sometimes they just go crazy for it from the beginning, but other times they just take a tiny taste.
Next day they eat a bit more, & then they decide whether to go on, or it isn't helping, stop eating it altogether.
I think that Geoff'speople has more information on that subject than I do.
There's a good thread about feeding buns with tummy probs. here. http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...ried-given-your-stasis-prone-buns-tree-leaves
Chelle, you've set me thinking -dangerous! :lol: It would make sense if rabbits were highly bodily aware. Wildies have 2 big probs if they're under the weather
- they're more prone to predation if they go far from their burrows when unfit. I've seen this in both my buns being very reluctant to go outside & staying very close to the house when poorly.
The problem for wildies is that if they're unfit, there's always another bun lower in the social heirarchy willing to challenge them to fight for a bit of "upward social mobility".
I have repeatedly noticed that buns learn by watching each other (me), trial & error, & a bit of instinct. With Benjie this certainly applied to food too. He was fascinated by what I ate for a few days. He was up on the sofa beside me, & put his nose into my plate while I watched like a hawk. I always turned the plate so he could only reach things he wouldn't eat eg fish, & made "A-a" noises = NO. After 3-4 days he gave up interest completely, & never bothers with any of my food now.
NOT forage in the UK but from a plant, I use echinacea, 1 pinch daily from a human capsule, cos Benjie is a very nervous bun. It's done wonders for him behaviourally, cos he's been very withdrawn, & I'm convinced that it keeps his snuffles under better control. It would also help nervous buns prone to stasis.
I think it's also important to be aware that eg Willow has a lot of aspirin like substances in it, as does yarrow. If a bun is devouring lots of willow they usually have pain somewhere & need a vet. Similarly if they're on metacam, don't let them have too much willow.
I've said how I started with mine.
I'd look at the rabbit safe plants you can get easily, & maybe start by typing in the latin name for the plant in Wickipaedia to get an overview. Remember the culinary herbs too (never ever use the onion family - garlic/chives etc -they're poisonous to rabbits.) Next step offer them some.
I've noticed that sometimes they just go crazy for it from the beginning, but other times they just take a tiny taste.
Next day they eat a bit more, & then they decide whether to go on, or it isn't helping, stop eating it altogether.
I think that Geoff'speople has more information on that subject than I do.
There's a good thread about feeding buns with tummy probs. here. http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...ried-given-your-stasis-prone-buns-tree-leaves
Chelle, you've set me thinking -dangerous! :lol: It would make sense if rabbits were highly bodily aware. Wildies have 2 big probs if they're under the weather
- they're more prone to predation if they go far from their burrows when unfit. I've seen this in both my buns being very reluctant to go outside & staying very close to the house when poorly.
The problem for wildies is that if they're unfit, there's always another bun lower in the social heirarchy willing to challenge them to fight for a bit of "upward social mobility".
I have repeatedly noticed that buns learn by watching each other (me), trial & error, & a bit of instinct. With Benjie this certainly applied to food too. He was fascinated by what I ate for a few days. He was up on the sofa beside me, & put his nose into my plate while I watched like a hawk. I always turned the plate so he could only reach things he wouldn't eat eg fish, & made "A-a" noises = NO. After 3-4 days he gave up interest completely, & never bothers with any of my food now.
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yeah - i think youre right - the whole thing about hierachy and feeling unwell and the challenges the wild buns would have.
I think our buns have to deal with slightly less of it but still htink that in a pair or oreo f buns there is still those levels to always maintain - regardless of being well or not.
Can I ask - Judy - what plants do you give unlimited everyday?
and do you give it fresh or dried?
(stop thinking...its very dangerous! lol! Ive been thinking too...the red alert light has gone on now! lol! Ive been trying to dry 2 large bags of rubwort plantain....i spread it al over the patio to enable any bugs to run away -and to dry it abit.
Then picked it all up lookiong for any slugs...and have now got
box & tray in the airing cuboard, box & basket in the loft,
2 draws emptied in the spare room...so OH wont see:lol: - sneaky! lol! and some other boxes dotted about thehouse in unobvious places...Im hoping I dont bug my house out - the tiny bugs you dont see:shock::?
Ive got another 2 whole tesco bags in my boot...but have no where to spread it out - the shed is not working to dry any more....the hawthron i put there the other day has gone brown
So - def wont work with juice plantain. OH says when he gets bitten by a bug - he wont be pleased & al I will be able to say is sorry!:?:lol::roll:
I think our buns have to deal with slightly less of it but still htink that in a pair or oreo f buns there is still those levels to always maintain - regardless of being well or not.
Can I ask - Judy - what plants do you give unlimited everyday?
and do you give it fresh or dried?
(stop thinking...its very dangerous! lol! Ive been thinking too...the red alert light has gone on now! lol! Ive been trying to dry 2 large bags of rubwort plantain....i spread it al over the patio to enable any bugs to run away -and to dry it abit.
Then picked it all up lookiong for any slugs...and have now got
box & tray in the airing cuboard, box & basket in the loft,
2 draws emptied in the spare room...so OH wont see:lol: - sneaky! lol! and some other boxes dotted about thehouse in unobvious places...Im hoping I dont bug my house out - the tiny bugs you dont see:shock::?
Ive got another 2 whole tesco bags in my boot...but have no where to spread it out - the shed is not working to dry any more....the hawthron i put there the other day has gone brown
So - def wont work with juice plantain. OH says when he gets bitten by a bug - he wont be pleased & al I will be able to say is sorry!:?
:lol::roll:akaemzybabe
Young Bun
Great thread thank you all so much *wanders off to give her sick bunny more dried plantain*
I'd just like to add the one thing I have grown this year and been so proud and astounded by the amount of neglect and poor soil it has taken is nasturtiums I brought a packet of 20 seeds for about 50p in wilkos and it has fed my guys daily since the beginning of June my boy loves them, I have no idea what properties they have tho?
I'd just like to add the one thing I have grown this year and been so proud and astounded by the amount of neglect and poor soil it has taken is nasturtiums I brought a packet of 20 seeds for about 50p in wilkos and it has fed my guys daily since the beginning of June my boy loves them, I have no idea what properties they have tho?
bunniesgalore
Alpha Buck
Rupert adores them too and says "they have 'happy' and 'tasty' qualities. End of".
