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my foraging diary

Superhaul of branches, j&b :love: Will the leaves separate from the branches when they're dry? Do you routinely carry secateurs in your pocket?:lol:

Tui has just got a pile of Hawthorn hedge prunings from yesterday. Going down well.
 
Superhaul of branches, j&b :love: Will the leaves separate from the branches when they're dry? Do you routinely carry secateurs in your pocket?:lol:
Matt carries secateurs and gloves on every walk, and in his backpack (which goes most places with him) as well as a folding pruning saw (backpack only or specil occasions, like when a willow branch needs felling). Most of his forage is branch-based because it's his head height!
 
I tried to forage this afternoon - was planning to mainly get Ash but concerned I might have accidentally got some Elder. is tree Elder toxic to buns - I know they can eat ground elder? Its a confusing one to google so if anyone knows that would be great

I saw a field full of the most gorgeous caramel & chocolate coloured cows:love: Didn't have camera or phone so need to return for pics
 
I tried to forage this afternoon - was planning to mainly get Ash but concerned I might have accidentally got some Elder. is tree Elder toxic to buns - I know they can eat ground elder? Its a confusing one to google so if anyone knows that would be great

I saw a field full of the most gorgeous caramel & chocolate coloured cows:love: Didn't have camera or phone so need to return for pics

I have always deliberately not fed Elder, thinking it was toxic. Looking at Medirabbit site, they list it as European Elder and it's on their toxic list. http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/Tox/Tox_en.htm
 
Walked home from work (brrrrr) yesterday so I could forage and got decent quantity of dandelions, cow parsley, grass and geranium. No early Hawthorn though and no sow thistle (well there was but only in likely dog traffic areas, same with plantain)
Come on Spring
 
Walked home from work (brrrrr) yesterday so I could forage and got decent quantity of dandelions, cow parsley, grass and geranium. No early Hawthorn though and no sow thistle (well there was but only in likely dog traffic areas, same with plantain)
Come on Spring

No really *decent* quantities of anything here yet, apart from grass. I can see the beginnings of plants such as Plantain, Sow Thistle, Red Campion, Wood Avens and Dandelions, but certainly not big enough to rob yet. The Cow Parsley has grown quite a bit in the last few days and the small part of the perimeter hedge of Hawthorn, which is the earliest, has tiny green leaf buds :) You always do have much more wild Geranium than here. Red Dead-nettle and Chickweed under the Kale looks less happy this year than most.
 
No really *decent* quantities of anything here yet, apart from grass. I can see the beginnings of plants such as Plantain, Sow Thistle, Red Campion, Wood Avens and Dandelions, but certainly not big enough to rob yet. The Cow Parsley has grown quite a bit in the last few days and the small part of the perimeter hedge of Hawthorn, which is the earliest, has tiny green leaf buds :) You always do have much more wild Geranium than here. Red Dead-nettle and Chickweed under the Kale looks less happy this year than most.

eeekkk, really good news Hawthorn is a coming. There is lots of wild geranium here. Everything was tiny leaves. I only got decent amount as travelled so far. Practically all eaten now. I'll try & do that 2 days a week from now - saves on taxis & bobbing in shops for snacks & bunny herbs. Will have to be grass based for the next month though so I don't decimate everywhere.
Can't believe the cow parsley opposite my mums house - it was so lush & thick
 
We've got OK cow parsely, hogweed and as much stickyweed as the bunnies will eat (not that much it turns out :lol:). There's a couple of HUMONGOUS clumps of chickweed but thye inevitably don't like it from there :lol: I have difficulty finding good grass! My lawn isn;t much of a lawn right now, it's mostly a barren wasteland, but they've been out there this morning eating the Rubbish Bramble Matt put in for them (so they've something to do in thewre, the lawn run is quite bare, has no toys etc. right now). Do other people's buns dislike certain cultivars of bramble?
 
We've got OK cow parsely, hogweed and as much stickyweed as the bunnies will eat (not that much it turns out :lol:). There's a couple of HUMONGOUS clumps of chickweed but thye inevitably don't like it from there :lol: I have difficulty finding good grass! My lawn isn;t much of a lawn right now, it's mostly a barren wasteland, but they've been out there this morning eating the Rubbish Bramble Matt put in for them (so they've something to do in thewre, the lawn run is quite bare, has no toys etc. right now). Do other people's buns dislike certain cultivars of bramble?

Mine will eat Chickweed only if there's nothing else. Grass has become quite lush. I'm not sure that it's different types of Bramble, but it's a certainly a plant that they prefer at certain times of the year. I must admit I would term our Bramble rubbish at the moment too.
 
Mine will eat Chickweed only if there's nothing else. Grass has become quite lush. I'm not sure that it's different types of Bramble, but it's a certainly a plant that they prefer at certain times of the year. I must admit I would term our Bramble rubbish at the moment too.
Ours very much dislike very thorny ones like we have growing everywhere in our garden (rubbish plant, fruits are also pants), the small-leaved ones with the two lower lobes combined, that sort of thing. Mostly they're eating the buds at the leaf joins then everything else. Chickweed was a big favourite but I reckon I might have just got too much!

Did manage to fool them into eating (seedling) buddleia the other day though :D
 
This doesn't look so much but it filled half of a tote bag. It took me ages to collect as everything is still at micro stage.
Got quite a lot of cow parsley & small to tiny amounts of grass, dandelions, sow thistle, brambles, ribwort plantain, herb robert & sticky bud . Also little branch of pussy willow & 2 strawberry leaves procured from community garden

sujODRsl.jpg
 
Oh yes, ours has furry willow from the storm(s) :D Went down well, better than the chopped down stuff they've been on for ages (a big bit of tree was causing issues so cut down and piled up, Matt kept going back for more :D).
 
Scipio got his first real taste of forage this weekend. I got them hawthorn, bramble leaves, cow parsley goose grass and hogweed.

When I first put the tray down, he was all "Wtf is this?!" But he has decided that he really, really likes hawthorn and brambles. Doesn't mind goosegrass. But not keen on hogweed or cow parsley. Fudgie doesn't seem to care for cow parsley either, which is annoying as you can't move for the stuff at the moment!
 
Scipio got his first real taste of forage this weekend. I got them hawthorn, bramble leaves, cow parsley goose grass and hogweed.

When I first put the tray down, he was all "Wtf is this?!" But he has decided that he really, really likes hawthorn and brambles. Doesn't mind goosegrass. But not keen on hogweed or cow parsley. Fudgie doesn't seem to care for cow parsley either, which is annoying as you can't move for the stuff at the moment!

Things are growing now aren't they :) I've never had a bunny who really, really likes Goosegrass, It's been tolerated if there's not much else. Hogweed and especially Cow Parsley are the opposite. I've never had a bunny not like them. I would persevere, especially with Scipio. It sometimes takes a while for them to realise that they are in fact yummy.
 
aww, Scipio & his first forage :love: Cow Parsley & hogweed are very much loved by Boo, can't find the latter yet. This year she is really loving hawthorn & eating the twigs too
 
This year she is really loving hawthorn & eating the twigs too
Matt got ours their first hawthorn of the year the other day and that twig mysteriously disappeared too!

We bribed them with cow parsley for pictures the other day XD Matt sends his neice a picture of the bunnies saying Happy Birthday to her :) Barrie still prefers dried forage, weirdo :lol:
 
Its getting exciting now, baby brambles & a few raspberry leaves. Hogweed is taking its time though. i must remember to do most of my foraging for Winter in Spring - before the nettles & spittle bugs take over in summer
 
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