Leaves

[#1BunnyLover]

                I have recently read that dried leaves that have fallen from the trees are safe for rabbits. I read this on  a site, not some random person’s suggestion. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the website.  Lol Anyways, it said that a pile of dried leaves were fun to dig in and a crunchy snack. I’ve never heard of rabbits eating tree leaves, and i would think that certain types of trees could be toxic to the precius buns. It didn’t specify what types trees either. I do NOT want to put my rabbit in any danger so if anyone could tell me if leaves were safe. And if they are I would like to know what kind because i certainly have plenty around here!

                           Thanks in advance! You guys are such great help!

[peppypoo]

I do not recommend giving tree leaves to your bunnies as many tree leaves may be toxic to bunnies, particularly oak leaves. If you want to give your bunny something fun to jump in, you could try making a diggy box with shredded newspaper and see if he enjoys it.

[#1BunnyLover]

Aha! That’s what I thought! I hope anyone who read that article doesn’t try it!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Lots of leaves (oak, hardwoods, many fruit trees) are very toxic so I definitely wouldn’t. Also you can find some yucky things in leaves, anyone that has jumped in a pile can tell you!

[Beka27]

Toxicity is definitely an issue, not to mention any pests that may be in the leaves, or if they were wet and molded before they dried out. Animals are also doing their business in that area, so I would skip the leaves.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I would also be worried about identifying the type of leaves incorrectly since so many are toxic. Best to stick to shredded paper if you want something for bunny to dig in.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Bunnies in the wild (which in north America, aren’t even related to the bunnies we keep in our homes-domestic rabbits are descended from European rabbits) live 1-3 years on average I get what your saying but when we domesticate animals we take away their ability to fend for themselves. Additionally wild animals do not have the lifespans their well cared for domestic counterparts can expect. It’s the same with trying to feed raw food to dogs because wolves eat that way. They are not the same animal, wolves can expect 1/2 or less of the lifespan of a well cared for dog and are always have nutritional deficits.

So while I understand where you are coming from it’s totally our job to keep our pets safe And that means not treating them like wild animals

[Eucalyptus]

Actually, feeding raw to a dog is not a bad thing at all. And it is the most ideal thing you could do for a cat (I only say this because I did little research for dogs specifically). I won’t hijack this thread and make it a debate about raw for dogs, but I did want to state that.

I would avoid leaves because a lot of fruit trees and oak trees are toxic in every single way. Even if there were trees around that you could confirm were safe, I would worry about them being mixed up, and then being unable to identify the safe ones from the toxic ones (as mentioned above), and ending up feeding completely toxic leaves to your poor bun.

I personally love the idea of a natural, fresh diet. But if there are a ton of risks involved that you might not even be able to avoid due to lack of knowledge, I would just scrap the idea. It sounds really good in theory, but there are a lot of potential problems.

[Author]

Messages