A clover question

[Stone_family3]

I'm full of questions today.

My neighbor has this Clover Trifolium pratense growing in his back yard, it has not been sprayed with chemicals. Can my bunny eat this?

 

[tonyshuman]

I have given some to my guys before with no ill results. They do have steel stomachs though, and as this site says http://kanin.org/node/191 , "Give clover carefully, considering some sources claim it can be hard on sensitive stomachs - ingesting can cause bloat. Additionally, clover is quite fattening and therefore not ideal to feed overweight rabbits." I've found a couple other sites that say both white and red/purple clover are safe.

 

[Stone_family3]

I wasn't sure. I thought I'd ask. However our neighbor doesn't mow his lawn except twice a year so I figured it I could get something out of it...lol.

 

[Saudade]

Red clover is dangerous for rabbits. *can't remember for the life of me the chemical in it that is dangerous*.

When I remember it I'll come back...
*edit*
Reference #1
Reference #2
Reference #3

Red clover can cause hormonal imbalances in your rabbits, but it appears that I was wrong about the toxic chemical... But it appears that it is only the mould, however I would be very careful about not feeding your rabbit any sickly or mouldy/diseased clover.
I could of sworn... Though
The three references there are specifically for red clover.

 

[tonyshuman]

That is interesting that 3bunnies list it as toxic, while the others list only moldy red clover hay as toxic. I think fresh red clover would be fine, but be careful of dried red clover.

 

[Stone_family3]

I'm just going to pick it and feed it no drying at all

 

[ra7751]

Clover is very good especially for young rabbits. It's a legume....like alfalfa....and is very nutritious. I have great clover here in the spring and fall (not so much in summer) and it's one of the first solid foods I offer baby cottontails. Same rules apply as most everything else....no chemical or mold and not in excess.

Randy

 

[SablePoint]

Sweet clover is toxic to rabbits but the red clover isn't.

My rabbits love the red clover that grows in our yard. It's one of the only things they want to munch on in our yard.