Feeding flatweed/catears to rabbits

[Shantel]

I’ve been collecting dandelions for my two bunnies and have come across these weeds which look like dandelion but arent. I think they are called flat weed, catsear or Hypochaeris radicatake. Could u guys please tell me if these plants can be fed to rabbits or a really edible pls.

[Bam]

I looked it up, it seems it’s edible for humans.

Wikipedia says: “This species is suspected of causing stringhalt in horses if consumed in excess.”

Stringhalt is a neuromuscular condition that affects the hind legs of horses. I looked that up, and found a study where flatweed extract was shown to be toxic to nerve cells of mammals: http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/learning/departments/centres-research/equine-research-centre/projects/does-flatweed-cause-stringhalt.cfm

The plant seems to be toxic mostly if it has grown during a drought. And the animal needs to consume quite a lot of it. It affects horses that have been grazing pastures that have lots of flatweed.

So the odd flower or leaf is probably ok.

[Azerane]

I feed catsear quite frequently. Leaves and flowers. I don’t feed a lot at once cause I don’t have that much, but a leaf or two mixed in with their daily salad

[Author]

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