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Packet salards

AmberUK

Alpha Buck
Ok you can see I am going to be lazy ;-) who uses packet salards for their bunnies and which ones? I tried to read the list of ingredients andgave uy. I know rocket has given me problems in the past and quite a few had rocket but anyone use any lazy packets?
 
Well, I'll get an earbashing too then, cos I use them quite alot. You get a really good mix and in my opinion they're fine so long as you give them a good rinse first and there's no iceberg, onion or beans in them (the salad bags that is, not my ears!)
 
Ok... not having a go at anoyone but I would never feed these to my rabbits!

I remember reading an article in the Sunday Times last year that revealed they carry all kinds of harmful bacteria, and in many cases are half-decayed by the time they reach our fridges! I only have to look at my local Co-Op's reduced (past date) salads to see they are starting to go mushy at the bottom.

While I realise not everyone can do this, I pick wild greens for my rabbits, and can fill a carrier bag in under 10 mins with a huge variety of natural rabbit salad. One of my major projects for next year now I have a digicam, is to create a website purely to encourage people to go and pick their own, with easy recognition photos and plenty of help.

These greens will keep in my fridge, in a carrier bag, for 10-14 days without going off, so what does that tell you about the freshness of these supermarket salads? Not to mention how they were grown, or how the growers were treated by commerce.

I believe very strongly in rabbit salad... and I would love to help others to go and find these free, organically grown wild herbs for their own rabbits. The rabbits love them, and they are more nutritious (as supermarket veg have been tailored to human palates) as well as being organic and free from any of the politics and commercial pressures put upon vegetable growers.

/rant over! :)
 
I do pick some greens, though I am gradually building them up. But I got told, that you have to be careful incase dogs have weed on them. Though I am careful to check for spraying how can I check for that - not washing will help! I do get dobber sized danelion leaves though!
 
Dog wee isn't such a big problem as it once was... you are harking back to the days when people weren't as good with worming dogs as they are now, and the things like Frontline weren't available.

I worry more about wild rabbits where I pick.... but if you only went for a stroll in country areas you could bring back VHD on your shoes... and myxi infected fleas aren't as likely to attach themselves to green food.

Saying that, I now pick in a place where I know there are no wild rabbits and store the greens in the fridge. Fleas (if there are any) hibernate in the cold and would fall to the bottom of your greens bag.

You could always rinse any greens in duliuted Milton (the stuff they sell for disinfecting baby bottles - it can disinfect vegetables too) which would make them safe, and won't harm the buns.

I would far rather pick wild greens any day than use the supermarket stuff. Not only is it better for them, but it is fun, and learning about herbs and their uses for rabbits is continuing a tradition which is in danger of being lost nowadays.
 
Pendragon said:
These greens will keep in my fridge, in a carrier bag, for 10-14 days without going off, so what does that tell you about the freshness of these supermarket salads? Not to mention how they were grown, or how the growers were treated by commerce.

That statement really hits home doesn't it! I think I will look in the library for a book with pictures of safe and unsafe plants and go natural salad picking!

Pendragon you have so much interesting and good advice. It is good to get different ideas etc from someone with so much more rabbit knowledge and experiance than me!
 
I also use salad bags from time to time (may be once a fortnight or so). Would love to pick wild greens, but not much of a chance of that in London - and our garden is not big enough to grow it myself either... :( So unfortunately have to stick to the supermarket stuff...
 
i sometimes have to give Dubbs packet spinach. my local greengrocer shuts at 4.30 (i dont get home from work til way after that and there isn't one near my office). so then i have to rely on Sainsbury's having fresh spinach, which they never do, so i have to resort to the packet stuff. the only other packet salad i give Dubbs is the watercress, spinach and rocket mix. but he isn't keen on watercress so i usually end up picking it out.

last week i went to Southwark organic market on the Southbank and picked up LOADS of fresh organic veggies. most of the were still covered in mud from being picked that morning/night before.
 
I am very guilty! I use the bags of baby spinach. 2 bags gets me through 10 buns and 6 piggies. They are so easy to pick up from the Sainsbury's Local on the way home. I agree they do go off quickly and I always feed within 2 days of buying.

I am quite lucky where I live in Surrey. We have a lot of independent farm shops around here. They have a great selection of organic veggies.
My buns always have carrot sticks and broccoli florets chopped up ready to go, in the fridge. But if I do run out it is a salad bag in the meantime :oops:
 
its hard finding fresh unprocessed vegetables at 7pm in the city of london, and i do mean the city, i live in the middle of the Square Mile. i try to stock up at weekends though from a proper greengrocers
 
I think Sue's right, there are lots of yummy 'wild' plants that are the perfect diet for bunnies. Alfie adores the weeds out of the garden.

Sometimes you do have to compremise a bit though depending whats available.

You know dandelions are quite pretty plants, big bright green leaves and bright yellow flowers. I bet you could grow them in a pot inside. A lot of herbs will grow on a window sill/box/balcony too. Obviously that won't cover your buns whole green supply but it does make a nice addition.

You could also try growing a tray of grass, it makes a good toy and is yummy too if your bun doesn't usually have access to the outdoors/grass.

Tam
 
Pendragon said:
One of my major projects for next year now I have a digicam, is to create a website purely to encourage people to go and pick their own, with easy recognition photos and plenty of help.

Sue this would be brill - I'd love to pick some of the wild plants for bunnies but I find them really difficult to recognise from some of the books I have.
I do worry sometimes though as I'm in a very heavily populated wild bunny area so I think I'd be very careful where I went Wild Plant picking.

I am guilty :roll: of buying some of the prepack salad - Watercress and Rocket is the main one but the bunnies only have small amounts of greens anyhow. They also love Fennel which is sometimes really difficult to get hold of and I've heard that in small amounts this is good for the bunny guts.
 
I already have grass, beetroot tops, carrot tops, dandelion, parsley, carriandor and strawberry (leaves) on the go for them. Lots of jobs at once means the repottings going slower than I would like ;-( Next year I am doing a wildlife garden at the front of the house and that is going ot have some wild plants in there for the bunnies.
 
bunnytales said:
They also love Fennel which is sometimes really difficult to get hold of and I've heard that in small amounts this is good for the bunny guts.

It grows wild here!! :shock:
Seriously, all the waste ground & wild places hereabouts are chock full of wild fennel plants. Mine love it and are probably sick of it by now!

Maybe next year I should do a naughty and dig up a few plants for people who want them. When growing wild, it doesn't make the fat bulbs (these are from a special type which is blanched and forced for humans) but they love the feathery leaves, and now the leaves are dying down for the winter, I cut some thick stems for them to chew on instead.

If I ever get my Rabbit Salad site sorted, I'll take pics of the plants as they look when growing, as well as close-ups. It will focus mainly on what grows well round here through necessity, but that's not bad as a starting point - plus I hope to do a calendar of what's best available around the year.

This area is unusually sheltered so I think we'll get a lot even in winter - I went out picking the day before yesterday and there was a huge amount of lush Mallow plants with ginormous leaves, and still plenty of milk & sow thistles about, as well as yarrow & plantain.

Half the fun of it is knowing the beneficial effects... which plants are good for the gut, which are laxative in nature, etc.
 
I've just been on a shopping trip to buy spices for Indian food. I've come back with coriander and fennel seeds...... this may be a stupid question but if I throw 'em in a pot of compost will they grow? Jeez, more window sills taken over by plants grown for the buns
 
I can never find Beetroot tops or radish tops round my way, its very annoying. I manageed to get some carrots with the tops still on in Sainsburys last night, Dubbs went mad when he saw them, he LOVES them :lol: Can rabbits eat Coriander?
 
lindac said:
Can rabbits eat Coriander?

Yes, Rob loves coriander, basil, mint, parsley - there's loads more herbs they can eat, but these are his favs. Gave him some chives the other day and he loved them - couldn't find them on the 'edibles' food topic though, so if I shouldn't be giving him these will someone shout please :roll: .

Rob didn't like fennel though - tried to dig it into the carpet - he always does this with food he doesn't like - must frustrate him. :wink:
 
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