Curious about these plants...

ariusshadow · May 3, 2010

I notice that a lot of the lists I've seen don't really mention some plants that I'm curious about. I'm going to my folks house many times this summer, and I'm hoping to bring back a few treats from my mother's garden if any of them are okay for buns.

Hosta. The leaves, or flowers. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Hosta_fortunei_Picta_form.jpg
She also has this kind:
http://www.flowersgallery.net/gallery/hosta/hosta-1.jpg

Tigerlily. It could be that this one was listed and I just didn't see it. I never really _looked_ specifically for it, but I am still curious. http://www.cairochronicles.com/kaddee/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/tigerlily.jpg

Queen Anne's Lace. Not to be confused with Yarrow. They're different. QAL is much more stubborn and tough, and has different leaves. Very common around here. More common than Yarrow. http://oregonmag.com/QueenAnneLace.gif

String Beans. The plant, flowers, or veggies.

Lilac. The branches, leaves, or flowers. I'd assume not good because of the strong fragrance and what might produce it... But because they're able to eat roses and lavender... I'm curious.

Also, there's a plant I don't know the name of. A very common weed here. I live in New York. This weed, when cut, oozes a yellow liquid. It has yellow flowers. Now, in the world of nature, bright colors mean poison... So I'm skeptical. If anyone knows the name of the plant, please let me know. I'm interested if it's bun-safe or not. And what the *** it is. xD Cuz I'm 21 and have yet to hear a real name for it. x.x;

Also, Mushrooms. (I assume they're not good for the bun... Since... They're not good for a lot of animals. But I thought I'd ask. And I mean the type you buy in the packages at wal-mart, guys. I ain't feedin' shrooms to my buns xD)

Any and all responses are greatly appreciated.

Also, please let me know if these are any safer dried as opposed to fresh, or less safe dried. Since, I will be traveling back home with them, it'll be important to know if they can be cut days in advance of leaving, ect.

pamnock · May 3, 2010

Here's some that rabbits avoid: http://www.minnesotavalley.com/rabbits.htm

From a number of sites, I have gathered that rabbits love hostas. We also had a recent post that discussed feeding rabbits lilac leaves and flowers (they like the tender shoots as well).

I would avoid the QAL - one site I read said to give it to wild baby bunnies, another stated that it's poison.

I have read of wild rabbits eating tiger lilies.

Fresh beans should only be given in moderation.

Personally, I wouldn't take a chance with anything but greens that are known to be completely safe such as dandelions, fresh clover, etc. In some cases, one part of the plant is fine to eat, but other parts are poisonous.

ariusshadow · May 3, 2010

Yeah but my buns aren't much on the easy side.

I have one rabbit that likes dandelions... and one that likes clover. And I'm looking for something that they can enjoy other than their normal food. Knowing what's safe, I'll be able to try stuff until something works. x.x;
It's awesome that lilac's good for them. Because we have a TON of it around here. It's actually to the point that people with lilac pollen allergies are told NOT to move here by their doctors. x.x;
Thanks so much for your answer.

I'll go harvest some lilac a little later when the rain's dried up a bit.

funnybunnymummy · May 3, 2010

I've found theselists helpful:

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/Toxic_plants_en.pdf

http://kanin.org/node/189

http://www.raspberryridge.com/Feature-Poisonous%20plants.htm

The latter is a list of plants that are toxic to horses, but given their similar digestive systems, I think the plants listed on it would apply to rabbits, too.

If you don't know what a plant is, don't feed it.

I, also, would like to know if the leaves from green bean plants are safe for rabbits. I haven't been able to find that information anywhere!

Hope that helps!

Rue

ariusshadow · May 3, 2010

Thanks! I'll have to look through the list in a little while.

In our house, there's me, my bf, a friend, his mother, his gf, and another friend and his gf moving in soon. So I want to post the list of "safe" and "not safe" somewhere on the fridge or something so we can have less to worry about. The mom is always asking what they can eat. And I don't know how to answer half the time. x.x

Like she asked the other day

Can they eat potatoes?

She skinned potatoes and carrots and was about to give both to them and then thought to ask me first. I'm glad she did. I don't know if they can... And she didn't really, either and didn't even think of it. This way, we'll have a hard-set rule, if it's not on the list, don't feed it to them. I'm going to have to go over all the lists you gave me and plus the others I've found and pick and choose what to put on the list I'm actually printing out.

Thanks a lot, though.

tamsin · May 4, 2010

I don't think I've feed any of those. The plant you're not sure of sounds like dandelion, if so that's fine. Google for pics and check that's what it is first though. If you've got dandelions, you might have other weeds that are okay for bunnies. There is a list here of common weeds: http://www.galensgarden.co.uk/herbs/index.php

ariusshadow · May 4, 2010

No, I know dandelions. This oozes yellow not white. And has smaller, yellow flowers. With more defined petals, and less of them... I tried googling to find images before and nothing came up.. I'll try to take a picture today. I'm also curious because I'd like to set up a bun playpen in the future in the yard- landlord should agree to having his carpenter build it for us. Which would be awesome. And I'm trying to decide what in the yard to leave the way it is and what to pull up and keep it free of.