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my foraging diary

but she doesn't care for making things last & winter rations. Last year she burrowed in to a box that would have lasted 2 months & cleared it (I believe Joey helped) in about 10 days.

so it was actually 10 days supplies, not 2 months! Boo knows best :)
 
It's Nipplewort time again :D It been a favourite with all my bunnies and Tui is no exception. She's particularly pleased now that I have confirmed that several very large specimens are in fact Nipplewort. The plants had grown so large and robust that I was wondering whether they were a completely different plant. They're not, they have just benefitted from the deluge of rain that we had a couple of weeks ago.
 
I don't know nipplewort though I might learn so i can offer the buns "warty nipple" :lol: we change foragey names a little. I keep putting the same 2 things in my pocket for ID but then forget them. One has fluffy looking pink head that looks like a fancy grass head but I don't think it is. The second has very frilly stems (reminds me of fennel) but no flowers yet. Cuckoo spit is becoming annoying already
 
best guess on the feathery one is yarrow. I shall wait til it flowers

found the pink fluffy one. Garden plant escapee rather than wildflower? its certainly growing really well

https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/persicaria-bistorta-superba/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bistorta_officinalis

Scroll down to cultivation. You now need to determine whether your specimens are the wildflower version or the garden escape superba :) It's a member of the Dock family, so maybe when you have 5 minutes have a google to see if it is rabbit OK too.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bistorta_officinalis

Scroll down to cultivation. You now need to determine whether your specimens are the wildflower version or the garden escape superba :) It's a member of the Dock family, so maybe when you have 5 minutes have a google to see if it is rabbit OK too.

I've got all the time in the world - just dodgy eyes when I'm on the computer too long. Not sure I'd have the confidence to differentiate between wildflower or escapee though
 
I've got all the time in the world - just dodgy eyes when I'm on the computer too long. Not sure I'd have the confidence to differentiate between wildflower or escapee though

The size of the flowers will be the difference in length. Wildflower = 2-3 in; superba = 4-6 in.
 
I found an article bigging up some of its medicinal properties (actually sounds Mouse appropriate given her fur issue but don't worry, i'm not experimenting)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342060024_Antibacterial_and_anti-inflammatory_activity_of_bistort_Bistorta_officinalis_aqueous_extract_and_its_major_components_Justification_of_the_usage_of_the_medicinal_plant_material_as_a_traditional_topica

i don't think a yay or nay for rabbits is achievable. the only reference I can find is no reported toxicity over many species (incl horse, people & rabbits). I saw a gardening site that said rabbits & deer won't eat it so it sounds like one that MIGHT fall in the not toxic but not tasty pile
 
I've found a willow tree (well several) that Mousey loves & been trying to ID it. Google informs me Willows often form hybrids - no wonder I'm struggling :lol:


Winter drying is coming on pretty well although i'm also getting through a good amount as enrichment for my blind boobly bear
 
i don't think a yay or nay for rabbits is achievable. the only reference I can find is no reported toxicity over many species (incl horse, people & rabbits). I saw a gardening site that said rabbits & deer won't eat it so it sounds like one that MIGHT fall in the not toxic but not tasty pile
Dock generally I won't feed but I don't mind if they get some out in the garden etc., I find the leaves mush up and are too fibrous for my liking, so maybe try the rub-in-fingers technique?

I've found a willow tree (well several) that Mousey loves & been trying to ID it. Google informs me Willows often form hybrids - no wonder I'm struggling :lol:
LMAO Yep, we've got unidentifiable pussy-or-goat willow round here, plus thin-leaved more like normal willow stuff they're not keen on :lol:
 
Dock generally I won't feed but I don't mind if they get some out in the garden etc., I find the leaves mush up and are too fibrous for my liking, so maybe try the rub-in-fingers technique?

LMAO Yep, we've got unidentifiable pussy-or-goat willow round here, plus thin-leaved more like normal willow stuff they're not keen on :lol:

you'd have to explain what said method is first :lol: i'm happy to feed dock before it flowers but thats normal identifiable by anyone dock, not the fancy pants stuff
 
you'd have to explain what said method is first :lol: i'm happy to feed dock before it flowers but thats normal identifiable by anyone dock, not the fancy pants stuff
It was something Twigs showed us with burdock (coincidence!) specifically: if you get a leaf and scrunch it up, roll it round in your hands etc., it usually disintegrates into little pieces, but burdock kinda clumps into a big ball. Now imagine your hands are bunny mouth and stomach, and the ball now needs to go into bunny intestines :S Dock's nowhere near as bad as burdock for it but it's a good technique i use on especially older hogweed (which of course dries much better). Of course your fancy stuff could just be like lilac and be fine to eat just foul-tasting :lol:
 
Ohhh Thankyou. I'll try that. I suppose this is a benefit of dried

Mouse actually really wants the pink fluffy stuff & defo thinks its tasty (it somehow left the coffee table & she found it & got very excited..for a moment then very petulant about it being removed. It was only one stem. we don't normally get that level of food enthusiasm from Mouse
 
I made Mousey a nice (or so i thought) arrangement of wild flowers & grasses. She wasn't too impressed:lol: I thought it looked pretty & wholesome though.
j77lGhwl.jpg
Nonetheless I am going to dry a selection of grasses as a treat hay box for them to ignore
 
I made Mousey a nice (or so i thought) arrangement of wild flowers & grasses. She wasn't too impressed:lol: I thought it looked pretty & wholesome though.
j77lGhwl.jpg
[/IMG] Nonetheless I am going to dry a selection of grasses as a treat hay box for them to ignore

That does indeed look lovely and wholesome, super flowery. Tui says Mousey is daft :lol: Maybe Mousey has a good memory of the pink fluffy thing and nothing else will do now :lol:
 
I think she prefers the short green stuff - not in to fancy seed heads. I got excited today to find bind weed beautifully spiralling down reed grass that was as tall as me. all bunnies just chewed off the bindweed. Spoilt.

Anyway I am obsessed with grass (& bored by forage). I have pretty grasses in jars & vases drying :lol:. If the bunnies say nay to my homemade hay I can use it instead of bought hay in my giftset packaging. Win win.
 
It's interesting with grass. Tui is enthusiastic about all grass, but she and previous bunnies have always prefered the shorter, younger grass before it flowers. This I find is different to most forage and twigs, where buds and flowers are picked off first. Interesting observations :)
 
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