Strawberry & Mint/Basil leaves?

[Dee]

I’m full of questions today- sorry, everyone! I read that strawberry/raspberry/blackberry leaves can be well tolerated in rabbits who are sensitive to other greens. I have a strawberry patch just outside my kitchen door, so it’s very tempting to try giving the bunnies a couple leaves and see what happens.

Has anyone fed strawberry or raspberry leaves to their rabbits?

Also, is it safe to feed greens that have been exposed to other animals (such as chipmunks, squirrels and field mice?

Lastly, who has had good results with feeding mint or basil to sensitive bunnies? I have read of a bunny here who is prone to poopy butt and gets mint and rosemary as treats- I’m curious as to whether anyone else gives these.

Thanks, everyone

 

[Sarita]

Can’t speak personally to strawberry leaves but I’ve heard many feed it successfully to their rabbits and they seem to like it.

Not sure about greens that have been exposed to other animals – I know hay has that exposure.

I always feed mint and basil to my rabbits on a daily basis.

[Dee]

Thanks, Sarita. I think I’ll try the strawberry leaves tomorrow. I’m afraid to give them something new, then go to sleep just in case there is a bad reaction. You’re right, hay (and othr greens at the supermarket) has beeen exposed to animals. I found a rodent bone in the bunnies hay once- and that was Oxbow! I’m sure if I wash it well it will be fine.
In a few days I’ll try the mint, then the basil. I have tons of mint and strawberries outside- the basil I need to plant still. Do you grow your mint and basil? I know you’re in Texas so I’m not sure what grows well there. Here, mint grows like crazy, as do dandelions.
I’m really starting to wonder about Bun’s poopy problem- I think it might be that he’s not eating his cecals. At about 3 PM today, he ended up eating a bunch of parsley and Swiss Chard- about what he eats every night, maybe even more. And his butt is fine, even hours after all that! I felt it and he just had a bit of leftover hard poop from this morning (never got his butt bath today) and a few regular hard poops just kind of stuck to his butt loosely. So that kind of blows away the idea that his nightly greens are giving him poopy butt, although I’m still giving him even less than last night. I do find that on morning where he’s had nearly nothing the night before his bum is clean. So maybe too many greens at night lead to excess cecals in the middle of the night, which leads to mashed poop all over his butt in the morning…? I’m going to try giving them more greens during the day and less at bedtime and see if that helps. This sure does require a lot of thought!

[Monkeybun]

Just wash the leaves thoroughly and it should be fine

[Beka27]

I’ve never given strawberry leaves (from the actual plant), but I gave the buns some strawberry tops over the weekend, with a bit of fruit attached… they were in heaven!

[Author]

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