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Can rabbits eat rose hips?

Yes as a treat and they can be dried as well. Mine turn their noses up at them :roll: #fussy buns


Thank you!

I've never seen them on my rose before, so I'll pick them to save for winter treats.

Are they sweet? Is that why they should be rationed? (I should try one myself :lol:)
 
These are mentioned lots of times in past threads and also on rabbit websites. The consensus seems to be that they are included very often in commercial forage mixes and also that they are perfectly safe. There is one post on this thread which warns about hairs on the seeds, but I haven't seen that elsewhere.http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...ose-hips-safe-for-bunnies&highlight=rose+hips

It does seem that most rabbits refuse to eat them though :lol:

As an aside, I can remember when my children were tiny, trying to make some rose hip syrup for them. It was very difficult and I recall lots of straining through sieves was involved. I didn't repeat the process again :lol:
 
These are mentioned lots of times in past threads and also on rabbit websites. The consensus seems to be that they are included very often in commercial forage mixes and also that they are perfectly safe. There is one post on this thread which warns about hairs on the seeds, but I haven't seen that elsewhere.http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...ose-hips-safe-for-bunnies&highlight=rose+hips

It does seem that most rabbits refuse to eat them though :lol:

As an aside, I can remember when my children were tiny, trying to make some rose hip syrup for them. It was very difficult and I recall lots of straining through sieves was involved. I didn't repeat the process again :lol:


Yes I did quite a bit of searching and came up with some ambivalent answers and a couple of worrying ones.
Including this one from Galens Garden:


In addition, the seeds in mature red rosehips are covered in irritating fibres which have been used to create itching powder! In the green stage I suspect the fibre would not be as irritating but would still provide some valuable digestible fibre which is used by rabbits for energy.


I shall pick some and give them a go then :)
 
Tbh I would put rose hips in the category of "could be iffy", having read the Galen's Garden advice, which was similar to that on the thread that I posted. In my view there's such a variety of food, which is known to be completely safe, that I wouldn't bother with them. Particularly as it seems they are not that popular anyway :lol:
 
Tbh I would put rose hips in the category of "could be iffy", having read the Galen's Garden advice, which was similar to that on the thread that I posted. In my view there's such a variety of food, which is known to be completely safe, that I wouldn't bother with them. Particularly as it seems they are not that popular anyway :lol:


They just look so inviting on my very rambling rose :lol:
 
Mine have been eating them (VERY enthusiastically!) for three years with no ill effects :) Matt leaves the main flower parts on our very flourescent bush rose (just strips the petals) so the buns can have some rosehips each day in Winter, once they're ripe :) They go proper mental for them, presumably because there's naff all else for them! :lol:
 
Mine have been eating them (VERY enthusiastically!) for three years with no ill effects :) Matt leaves the main flower parts on our very flourescent bush rose (just strips the petals) so the buns can have some rosehips each day in Winter, once they're ripe :) They go proper mental for them, presumably because there's naff all else for them! :lol:


Thank you :D:wave:
 
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