hemp for bunnies-anyone tried?

[andreabaylon]

this is all hypothetically speaking of course...

so the other day i had my nibbler sitting with me on the couch. He came upon a small pile of hemp/cannabis stems that were stacked on the arm of the sofa. he went straight for them and nibbled them all up!!! i know that it's not toxic to humans, but is it to rabbits? is it ok to feed it to them? has anyone else tried this?? i was also told that rabbits are immune to thc so there is no need for concern over the rabbits eating these stems and getting high. Thoughts??

 

[introoder]

Lucky you. My buns were never interested in the stems they came upon on the floor of my room. XDDD

However, I prefer to save mine to make tea from.

But I can't tell you if it's good or bad. Eh.

 

[andreabaylon]

i am pretty certain it doesn't harm or we'd be hearing horror tales of test rabbits gone crazy from eating hemp, it would totally be a reason to be illegal. i went to the 'farmacy' today and asked what they did with their stems and sticks or if they would sell them and they said the same thing, that they saved them to brew tea. i probably won't be able to find the high quality stuff he first ate but i'm pretty sure i could find just plain old hemp stems for them...

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Isn't hemp an illegal drug? :O

Emily

 

[kirbyultra]

Pulled pending mod discussion.

Edit: thread has been reinstated. See Pipp's comments! Thanks. :wave:

 

[Pipp]

We won't condone any talk about getting rabbits 'high', which is considered a symptom of a 'toxic' substance (what may seem euphoric to a human could be very uncomfortable to a rabbit), but discussion (and more research) about the consumption of hemp products and the toxic or non-toxic effect of plant parts is welcome.

:thanks:

 

[Jessyka]

Interesting subject! Here's what I've found on it:

[flash=425,344]http://www.youtube.com/v/YCttegJ2rTM&hl=en&fs=1[/flash]

I know it's great for animals with arthritis. And I'm sure we're all aware by now that scientists have not been able to kill rats with any dose of it, so I'd say it's safe.

 

[Pipp]

Rabbits don't always avoid plants that aren't good for them. My guys finish every bit of their salads, even though there may have been a missed 'rotten bit' and they end up with gas. Pipp will know to be cautious next time (she won't eat the offending veggie again for days or weeks), the others just continue gobbling them up.

If rabbits are used to be fed food and treats and they taste good, don't count on them knowing its not good for them.

Right now we don't need examples of rabbits eating the stuff, we need to research the effects and toxic properties.


sas :expressionless

PS: The fact that rats didn't 'drop dead' after ingesting a bunch is a poor indication of its safety. Rabbits have totally different systems and reactions, and those rats may have had other effects than death. And as stated, it may have made them darn uncomfortable. Photos of irresponsible people just testing the stuff out on their rabbits is near-criminal in behavior alone.

 

[Hazel-Mom]

Actually, they have killed rats: "the dose of THC which kills 50 per
cent of animals (LD50) when administered intravenously is 40mg/kg in
the rat but 130mg/kg in the dog and monkey (Rosencrantz, 1983)."
Yes, it was administered intavenously, but it did kill them.
I have not (yet?) found citations about what the LD50 dose would be when ingested. It also depends on what part of the plant is ingested, as the leaves, and especially the stems, seem to contain much less THC than the buds.
The stems are also highly fibrous, that's what people used to use to make hemp fibers for ropes and clothing.

Andreabaylon, did you notice any effect on Nibbler? Did he show any signs of being affected at all?
I guess the best thing to do here is keep an eye on him, and check for any signs of GI slowdown etc.

 

[Hazel-Mom]

OK I just found some LD50 values:
"According to the Merck Index, 12th edition, THC has a LD50 (dose killing half of the research subjects) value of 1270 mg/kg (male rats) and 730 mg/kg (female rats) administered orally dissolved in sesame oil. The LD50 value for rats by inhalation of THC is 42 mg/kg of body weight."

Here is a list of LD50's:

Animal Administration LD[sub]50[/sub] [mg/kg]
rat oral 666
rat (male) oral 270
rat (female) oral 730
rat inhalation 42
rat intraperitoneal 373
rat intravenous 29
mouse intravenous 42
mouse oral 482
mouse intraperitoneal 168
monkey intravenous 128
dog oral 525

 

[tonyshuman]

The amount of THC in the stems should be negligible to effect the bunnies. Just like hemp used as a fiber in clothing, mats, paper, etc., there isn't enough THC there to cause a problem.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Pipp wrote:

Rabbits don't always avoid plants that aren't good for them. My guys finish every bit of their salads, even though there may have been a missed 'rotten bit' and they end up with gas. Pipp will know to be cautious next time (she won't eat the offending veggie again for days or weeks), the others just continue gobbling them up.

If rabbits are used to be fed food and treats and they taste good, don't count on them knowing its not good for them.

Right now we don't need examples of rabbits eating the stuff, we need to research the effects and toxic properties.


sas :expressionless

PS: The fact that rats didn't 'drop dead' after ingesting a bunch is a poor indication of its safety. Rabbits have totally different systems and reactions, and those rats may have had other effects than death. And as stated, it may have made them darn uncomfortable. Photos of irresponsible people just testing the stuff out on their rabbits is near-criminal in behavior alone.

I agree with Sas.

Showing videos/pictures of animals being fed illegal substances is near-criminal in behavior alone. Not only that, but the people should be arrested for having these illegal drugs in their possession, and especially growing them. Doesn't matter if it's "medical marijuana" or not... I'm sure you have to have a special license for that anyway, and I don't think you can get one, if the purpose is for treating animals.

My earlier question about hemp being illegal didn't get answered. Is it?

Emily

 

[Jessyka]

BlueSkyAcresRabbitry wrote:

My earlier question about hemp being illegal didn't get answered. Is it?

Emily

It's not illegal everywhere.

 

[Jessyka]

andreabaylon, pm me if you want more information, I don't want to get banned. :thumbup

 

[tonyshuman]

Usually, hemp refers to the fibers, which are legal and are often used in clothing, paper, baskets, anywhere a coarse fiber is used.

The legality of products of the cannabis plant, including hemp, marijuana buds and leaves (the THC-containing parts), seeds, etc etc etc is a very complicated question that varies on where you're located, what the purpose of it is (medical marijuana for people), and which plant part it is. Hemp fibers are almost universally legal in the US. The legal issue isn't really rabbit-related, so I'll direct you to an external website for that info:

http://www.justice.gov/dea/concern/marijuana.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_history_of_cannabis_in_the_United_States

Discussion of whether cannabis should be illegal under what circumstances doesn't really belong on a pet rabbit forum. Discussion of the penalties for cannabis possession and/or use are also not within the scope. I am sure there are hundreds of forums for people on all sides of this issue to talk about it, if you'd like to do that.

It is however usually accepted that giving substances to your pet to alter their consciousness is not ok. Since the members aren't asking about that, but merely if the plant is unhealthy for them to eat small amounts of, mostly by accident, that wasn't part of their question.

 

[Hazel-Mom]

My question wasn't answered either...
Did you notice any effects on Nibbler afterwards? Was he still behaving normally? Eating, drinking, pooping, etc. all normal?

 

[CiaraPatricia]

Rabbits will still eat things that are poisonous/bad for them! Before I didn't know that buttercups were poisonous and used to feed them to my guinea pigs and rabbit for the last three summers. I used to go into the fields and pick huge armfuls of them, and they used to eat them all! Luckily it never harmed them, maybe they were immune. But yeah, it could still harm a rabbit and you mightn't know, and they will still eat somethings that are bad for them . . .

(And don't worry, I have new guinea pigs and rabbits now, the others died of old age, not after eating buttercups . . . and I won't be feeding the new ones buttercups!)

 

[RandomWiktor]

I know that hemp cord, which is made from hemp fibers like those in hemp stems, is supposed to be safe for use with rabbits & other small animals in toy-making. Since rabbits tend to chew and sometimes even ingest parts of toys, I would guess that the fibrous parts of hemp such as the stems would not by harmful.

My greater concern would be the source of these stems, as depending on the source, marijuana can be contaminated with other chemicals and drugs. To my knowledge, there is also a concern about the levels of pesticides used in marijuana production (if this came from ilicit marijuana productionrather than say, a hemp farm) since illegally grown crops do not tend to abide by legal limits for pesticide use - and with such value on said crops, high levels of pesticides are often utilized.

Personally, since there is little information on the safety of hemp stems for rabbits, and the additional problems I mentioned above, I would probably avoid feeding cannabis to one's rabbits, particularly if it is coming from a questionable source.

 

[Sabine]

I use hemp shavings as litter for all my rabbits and the gerbil. Not sure what part of the plant they are made from. I have never seen them nibbling them.

 

[lovelops]

Actually, Hemp has been legalized in a majority of States in the US including where I live and in SC where I have land. Industrial Hemp has been legal to make rope, etc..
You can actually buy hemp seeds from Nutiva raw shelled as organic superfood because it's so high no pun intended with Omega 3 which is why I eat it. It's like Quinoa being high in Omega 3 oils that is good for you. Industrial Hemp is not about smoking because there is hardly any THC in it. They are high in CBD which is the Omega 3 oils to help people with medical issues like arthritis, etc.

Vanessa