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my foraging diary

joey&boo said:
I did give J&B some too (but they have to share what Mouse has to herself). She has eaten it all & politely asked I go out in the nasty rain for more. I honestly don't know how I managed so much winter foraging for Rudey last year. I enjoy bringing goodies home to the buns but I don't enjoy the miles of walking for inferior picking. I was reading back over this thread & all being well decent foraging is only 2 months away
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I've just read back over the same period last year and think you should be a bit more optimistic about the timing of good foraging. I think it will be here before the second half of March. I can appreciate the not wanting to go out in the rotten rain though.

Time to get to grips with the 'U' shaped stems of Cow Parsley perhaps ;)
 
joey&boo said:
I did give J&B some too (but they have to share what Mouse has to herself). She has eaten it all & politely asked I go out in the nasty rain for more. I honestly don't know how I managed so much winter foraging for Rudey last year. I enjoy bringing goodies home to the buns but I don't enjoy the miles of walking for inferior picking. I was reading back over this thread & all being well decent foraging is only 2 months away
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I sincerely hope so - the big guys are costing us a fortune in bought stuff and it so much harder to keep the variety day after day! We've been getting lots of baby cow parsley for th past month which is lovely, though the hard frost knocked a lot back into much. Also had herb robert throughout, I found a few secret stashes hidden undr hedges. But it is so demoralising to go foraging and come back with half a bag of mediocre stuff when it is so easy at other times!

Why do you de-vein the bramble leaves?
 
Omi said:
I've just read back over the same period last year and think you should be a bit more optimistic about the timing of good foraging. I think it will be here before the second half of March. I can appreciate the not wanting to go out in the rotten rain though.

Time to get to grips with the 'U' shaped stems of Cow Parsley perhaps ;)
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Do you know I've been thinking about CP - thats growing. Maybe I'll get some & you lot can help me ID (take responsibility for not poisioning my bunnies)
 
dollyanna said:
I sincerely hope so - the big guys are costing us a fortune in bought stuff and it so much harder to keep the variety day after day! We've been getting lots of baby cow parsley for th past month which is lovely, though the hard frost knocked a lot back into much. Also had herb robert throughout, I found a few secret stashes hidden undr hedges. But it is so demoralising to go foraging and come back with half a bag of mediocre stuff when it is so easy at other times!

Why do you de-vein the bramble leaves?
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cos inside bunnies are silly & wear them as tashes :lol:

GLRJobCl.jpg


I only used to de-vein for the disabled buns (now down to one) but J&B don't eat & bury them in carpet so I've just started cutting them all out now
 
joey&boo said:
Do you know I've been thinking about CP - thats growing. Maybe I'll get some & you lot can help me ID (take responsibility for not poisioning my bunnies)
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Please do :thumb: It's such a valuable forage plant and my bunnies wolf it down before anything else. I tend to pick it from the garden and I know where the plants are, but I find the stem the easiest ID feature if I am uncertain.

Dollyanna, how do you make sure it's CP?
 
Omi said:
Yes, we've got a small amount of Chickweed hiding amongst the Red Dead-nettle. Do you not get Dead-nettle where you are?
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We do, but in no quantity. We get a lot more white than red, and the white is much more susceptible (because it's bigger).

We're cow parsley/hemlock experts in this household, as both grow in abundance along the canal. We do it from shape of stems only because the leaves can be all sorts of weird, and the colour of the stems is sometimes misleading.

ETA J&B, looks like the about-an-hour of dry weather we just had is spinning your way, I hope you can get out during that!
 
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Omi said:
Please do :thumb: It's such a valuable forage plant and my bunnies wolf it down before anything else. I tend to pick it from the garden and I know where the plants are, but I find the stem the easiest ID feature if I am uncertain.

Dollyanna, how do you make sure it's CP?
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Same as keletkezes, stem shapes mostly at this time of year, but also knowing my surrounding areas quite well after years of foraging for the ponies. Cow parsley is an immensely useful herb for them, so I've been foraging the same areas for some time, hemlock doesn't seem to crop up in those areas though it is found lower down the road.
 
dollyanna said:
Same as keletkezes, stem shapes mostly at this time of year, but also knowing my surrounding areas quite well after years of foraging for the ponies. Cow parsley is an immensely useful herb for them, so I've been foraging the same areas for some time, hemlock doesn't seem to crop up in those areas though it is found lower down the road.
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Ponies! Is this why some are super friendly when I'm out foraging? They want my forage?
 
joey&boo said:
Ponies! Is this why some are super friendly when I'm out foraging? They want my forage?
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Haha, well certainly if you went anywhere near my two when foraging they would be coming to help! I've foraged for them for years, but we also do forage walks together as well. It's fascinating to have chance to just watch and see what they choose on different days and times, when most people think they just eat grass. You should see their faces when I enter their field with a bucket and start walking around looking interesting, only to discover I am just harvesting plantain from their toilet areas for the buns!
 
dollyanna said:
Haha, well certainly if you went anywhere near my two when foraging they would be coming to help! I've foraged for them for years, but we also do forage walks together as well. It's fascinating to have chance to just watch and see what they choose on different days and times, when most people think they just eat grass. You should see their faces when I enter their field with a bucket and start walking around looking interesting, only to discover I am just harvesting plantain from their toilet areas for the buns!
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Ha ha. How lovely. I thought they were just friendly..or maybe I didn't as they do make me feel guilty. I know you're not supposed to feed horses & ponies but is there any harm feeding bunny safe weeds that grow against the field hedge? or just grass? The goats are the same - they make me feel guilty for foraging too
 
joey&boo said:
Todays offerings for Mouse (only Mouse as they are so minimal) dandelions, hogweed, geranium & hazel
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Mine got Grass, Dandelions, Chickweed, Cow Parsley and Red Dead-nettle. All looked a bit manky, but it was gratefully munched. All needs a bit warmer temperatures and sunshine.
 
joey&boo said:
Ha ha. How lovely. I thought they were just friendly..or maybe I didn't as they do make me feel guilty. I know you're not supposed to feed horses & ponies but is there any harm feeding bunny safe weeds that grow against the field hedge? or just grass? The goats are the same - they make me feel guilty for foraging too
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Please don't feed equines without asking owners - many look like they are just in a field, but so many are on very strict and careful diets these days and may react really badly to being feed anything outside their field. Plus even if you don't feed them anything dodgy, it encourages them to approach strangers who might, and there have been SO many deaths in the past year from people feeding inapproriate stuff when out on lockdown walks. I had to fence off my gate to stop people feeding mine last Easter. Lots of horses can nip or bite when hand fed incorrectly too so you can damage their training as well.
 
joey&boo said:
Ha ha. How lovely. I thought they were just friendly..or maybe I didn't as they do make me feel guilty. I know you're not supposed to feed horses & ponies but is there any harm feeding bunny safe weeds that grow against the field hedge? or just grass? The goats are the same - they make me feel guilty for foraging too
Click to expand...

Please don't feed equines without asking owners - many look like they are just in a field, but so many are on very strict and careful diets these days and may react really badly to being feed anything outside their field. Plus even if you don't feed them anything dodgy, it encourages them to approach strangers who might, and there have been SO many deaths in the past year from people feeding inapproriate stuff when out on lockdown walks. I had to fence off my gate to stop people feeding mine last Easter. Lots of horses can nip or bite when hand fed incorrectly too so you can damage their training as well.
 
dollyanna said:
Please don't feed equines without asking owners - many look like they are just in a field, but so many are on very strict and careful diets these days and may react really badly to being feed anything outside their field. Plus even if you don't feed them anything dodgy, it encourages them to approach strangers who might, and there have been SO many deaths in the past year from people feeding inapproriate stuff when out on lockdown walks. I had to fence off my gate to stop people feeding mine last Easter. Lots of horses can nip or bite when hand fed incorrectly too so you can damage their training as well.
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No worries! I haven't (I asked on here a while back & got lots of advice - basically not to:lol: - I have since wondered about stuff they could get by putting head through the fence). I do talk to them & rub noses though - I'm guessing I should stop that

Christ as a kid I'm sure we fed random horses carrots & polo nuts :shock:
 
joey&boo said:
No worries! I haven't (I asked on here a while back & got lots of advice - basically not to:lol: - I have since wondered about stuff they could get by putting head through the fence). I do talk to them & rub noses though - I'm guessing I should stop that

Christ as a kid I'm sure we fed random horses carrots & polo nuts :shock:
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Lots of people still do, but even a carrot or two can lead to the death of a susceptible sugar sensitive pony. Hence why mine can't have ryegrass hay!
If they are nearby then most people don't mind them being talked to, but if they are at a distance I wouldn't try and encourage them to come over, just admire them from afar :)
 
joey&boo said:
No worries! I haven't (I asked on here a while back & got lots of advice - basically not to:lol: - I have since wondered about stuff they could get by putting head through the fence). I do talk to them & rub noses though - I'm guessing I should stop that

Christ as a kid I'm sure we fed random horses carrots & polo nuts :shock:
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I once got to the field where my horses were. To see a man had sat a toddler on one of them :shock: he was in his garden and he’d sat the kid on the horse who was loose on the other side of the fence. Best of it was, the horse wasn’t even broken in as he was too young to be ridden :roll:
 
If you consider how you would feel if you were walking a dog and everyone stopped and talked to them and fed them every walk, or people stopped by your garden to make a fuss of the rabbits and feed them stuff, that's how it feels to us equine owners - we appreciate that they are beautiful and it is a treat to so many people to be able to meet them, but it is a huge worry at the same time, and most of us can't keep them away from the public 100% safely.
 
dollyanna said:
Lots of people still do, but even a carrot or two can lead to the death of a susceptible sugar sensitive pony. Hence why mine can't have ryegrass hay!
If they are nearby then most people don't mind them being talked to, but if they are at a distance I wouldn't try and encourage them to come over, just admire them from afar :)
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These particular 2 are on a field on the side of a narrow country road - theres forage on their side I can't get on the other. The field has bits where they can't get to the grass verge side so at those times they play then the minute I'm somewhere they could reach me they canter right over. They are sweet. As I say I have given nose strokes but no morsels. I'll stick to gentle hellos & smiles from now on . I absolutely agree, no way would I appreciate anyone going near my bunnies
 
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