Does anyone grow any leafy greens (or other food/treats) for their bunnies?

[Bianca]

If so, what do you grow and how?

I’m contemplating growing some stuff for my buns but I haven’t decided what yet. The cheaper leafy greens are going out of season and therefore costing more for me, and herbs are just overpriced all the time where I live. When the weather is nice I can sometimes get to markets and get lots of free carrot tops, but I have been wondering what I could grow..

[Dface]

If you have the space I highly recommend nasturtium. The whole plant can be used and my buns are very fond of it. Its a creeping plant, but we’ve grown it in hanging baskets here. Its edible for humans too and has a kind of peppery taste. I also like how it looks (yellow and orange edible flowers!)
We grow wild rocket too , which tastes so much stronger than the store bought stuff, and is easy with little maintenance.
We grow raspberry bushes, which are great (if you’ve the space) Take a cutting from a wild bush and it’ll grow itself (but will take time) or get an already established ‘tree’. Its very invasive so usually grows really well. Mine love it’s leaves.
Buying the herbs and planting them yourself can actually be way more cost effective.
And lastly dandelions. I love them. They are weeds that grow constantly and that can take over a garden (I plant mine in storage containers to stop that) if u can pull wild ones up from the root and replant them yourself you’ll be happy out feeding those fantastic leaves to some happy bunnies.
Theres also so many flowers you can grow that are delicious for rabbits and look lovely in either gardens or planters.

Small edible gardens are very achievable and I think I only have to buy greens for my buns over winter (but that’s only cause I’ve never looked into winter planting)

Don’t forget growing grass either, which is a great green for rabbits!- grass grows effectively at 10°C, so if you plant them in tubs inside they’ll grow all winter. I normally plant two tubs of it, and cycle them. I think it takes two weeks from planting to sprouted, then let them nom it down, then let it grow again! (My rabbits also like to dig in it though which is a pain…but they’re so happy!)

[Bam]

I grow lots of various lettuces, I just sowed new rows yeasterday. I also grow fennel, but from brought plants. Nasturtiums are very nice plants, but it’s been so cold here they havent thrived this year. Same with haricots vert beans, they just haven’t grown. The leaves are otherwise popular with buns. It’s been a good year for New Zealand spinach though, that’s a very practical plant that I highly recommend both for humans and buns.

This year’s kale was lost to the garden slugs, but last year I grew both black kale (cavolo nero) and purple kale. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to sow radishes this time of year, here we only do that in early spring, Bam likes the greens a lot.

[Gina.Jenny]

I grow parsley and kale. This year, I am composting all bun litter (hay n poops) to help the kale over the winter…

[tobyluv]

Besides a lot of the greens already mentioned, I grow carrots for their tops. I sow the seeds, plus you can regrow tops from carrots that you have. Leave about an inch of the carrot with an inch of the green top and plant the carrot part. It will resprout fresh tops.

It can be difficult to find good ,fresh carrot tops in the stores, so I always try to have some growing. It overwinters in my climate. (Southern U.S.)

[DanaNM]

I only have a few pots on my apartment porch, but I grow mint, basil, and lavender. It’s mostly enough just to supplement when I’m low on other stuff or to give them little treats. I have grown lettuce and sow thistle in the past.  

Love the idea of re-sprouting carrot tops! I need to dedicate a pot to that! 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[DanaNM]

Oh, and if you can find the seeds, plantain (Plantago sp.) is also a good one to grow! I’ve never grown it, but it’s a great one for bunnies, and is a weed, so should be pretty easy.  

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Clem&M]

We’re using cucumbers here, they like the blossoms and the leaves, and the cucumbers here are growing like weeds, our white serpent cucumbers have overwhelmed every other cucumber we were growing.

[Bianca]

Wow thanks everyone, this has given me lots of ideas of things to grow! 😮

I think grass will be high on my list – since they released the calici virus earlier this year my rabbits haven’t been outside. I’m sure they would love some grass!

[Deleted User]

This is a great idea! I was actually thinking of a garden and when I read this message and I was thankful. Thank you.

[Bianca]

My husband and I are working on chopping down a pest of a tree in the backyard. When that is gone we will have a lot more room for a garden bed. So the next few weeks will be on getting rid of the tree and improving the soil. And sprouting some seeds too. Then later next month as the weather warms up I will start planting.

For myself I will be doing some tomatoes. But with the tomatoes will be basil and mint. Around them I will have room for something else – I haven’t decided what yet but I did find a packet of baby spinach seeds I bought last year and never used. Or I might do something just people friendly. Turns out we have nasturtiums growing in the backyard, but only a small amount. So I plan to plant a heap more seeds in some larger hanging pots.

Are nasturtiums more of a treat for rabbits, or can they have a fair bit as part of their daily leafy greens?

[Gina.Jenny]

I grew nasturtiums last year, only to have six bunny noses turned up at them

[Q8bunny]

I order buckets of mixed greens from Salad Boutique.

[Bam]

I forgot to mention borago. Bam has never wanted any before, but this year, both the flowers and the hairy leaves are very popular. They’re incredibly easy to grow. Sow them one year and they will do the sowing themselves for many, many years. The flowers are pretty in salads and taste like cucumber.

[JosipTheBunny]

I have a small garden with some vegetables, the rest I just grow in big pots

Lots of veggies I grow can also be eaten by my buns, I also planted some of the veggies just for my buns.

So I grow 4 different varieties of mint, different lettuce, parsley, different types of basil, lavander, spinach, swiss chard, strawberries and raspberries, cabbage, cucumbers, pot marigold, peppers, kohlrabi, rocket, carrots, radishes and I have probably forgotten some of the  others.

For the winter I’m planning on planting some lamb’s lettuce, radicchio and endive. 

[Bianca]

Oh thanks everyone, I have so many ideas now! I didn’t know rabbits can eat lavender, is that all types? And how much is safe?

[DanaNM]

Posted By Gina.Jenny on 8/13/2017 5:40 AM

I grew nasturtiums last year, only to have six bunny noses turned up at them

I’ve read in gardening books that you can plant nasturtiums to keep bunnies away, so not surprising! 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[DanaNM]

Posted By Bianca on 8/13/2017 6:30 AM

Oh thanks everyone, I have so many ideas now! I didn’t know rabbits can eat lavender, is that all types? And how much is safe?

Useful herb cheat sheet: http://www.disabledrabbits.com/herbs.html

I’ve only heard that pregnant and lactating does should not have lavender. 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bianca]

Thanks!

I gave mine a few nasturtium leaves to try last night. Lily pretty much inhaled it. Greebo gave it a funny look, examined it from a few different angles, then ate it. Maggie and Terry stuck their noses up at first but at it during the night.

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