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Is ornamental grass unsafe or toxic?

pyates

Young Bun
I have an area of stubborn ornamental grass in one corner of my garden that sprouts every spring. It grows quite long and when it's died in the winter I cut it down. My girl bun ate some 4 days ago and since a day later I noticed she has been off her food, she is still eating but not as much she needs encouraging and she's a bit subdued. Same with poos, still passing droppings, but just fewer. I cant tell you the name of the grass or post a photo, but it grows quite long and has a spider plant like look to the leaves, but larger. Could this be the cause of her being a bit off?
 
I can't be 100% sure, but I would be very surprised if an ornamental grass caused any problems for bunnies. I would be more inclined to think that it was coincidence. I think if I were you I would get her examined by your vet to see if an alternative cause can be found for her symptoms. I hope she feels better soon.
 
Thanks for your reply Omi. I'm reassured you think it's unlikely and probably a coincidence. She did seem a bit better this evening and she went out and ate some more of it, followed by a right good dose of regular grass as well, so fingers crossed.
 
I can't think of any ornamental grass that would be toxic to rabbits - they are still grasses. There are some other plants that look very grass-like which may not be appropriate to eat, so you need to be certain that it is a grass and not eg leaves from a bulb. It is rare for a rabbit to eat plants in the garden that are truly toxic. If she's eating different things to usual, there may be an underlying problem which is worth getting her checked over for, just in case.
 
My approach to such questions is: If they eat it, it's safe enough. I had my phase of reading online toxic lists, by now I realised that's pointless. If given the choice, they know pretty well what they can stomach, and that includes quite a lot from those lists.
 
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