Twigs and flowers in bunny diet?

[Thibaud Bun]

We are a new bunny family and I have been reading A LOT about how to give a balanced diet to our bun.  We are lucky enough to live in Northern California and have a good bit of garden space where we can grow a huge variety of bunny safe greens.  Usually, a lot of the meal comes straight picked from the garden twice a day.  

My real question is the role that twigs play?  I saw this list (below) about bunny safe twigs and we happen to have a bunch of the trees around us (including three apple trees in our garden!).  Are twigs straight from the tree considered Greens or Chews?  Thibaud LOVES his willow toys but at the rate that he goes through them it’s getting quite expensive so I would love to supplement from what we readily have around.  When I’m looking at his overall diet, are the twigs considered “greens” until they are dried out and then considered “Chews” that don’t need to be counted?  And I’m assuming that if you give a green twig with the fresh leaves still on it, the leaves definitely count as “greens.” 

Bunny Safe Twigs

http://kanin.org/node/190

 

And for flowers, I know that nasturiam, marigold, viola, etc are safe for our bun from this list…again, are flowers considered in the same nutritional category as Greens? Or do you need to treat them differently and consider them more along the lines of a treat?

Bunny Safe Flowers

http://kanin.org/?q=node/189

Looking forward to hearing from the wisdom of this group!

 

[MoveDiagonally]

Here is the HRS’s Veggie List:
http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/

The majority of a rabbits greens should be Leafy Greens (At least 75%).

Flowers are included in the “Non Leafy Green” Category. Non Leafy Greens should be no more than 15% of daily greens.

As for Twigs, they are not on the list but I consider them chews and wouldn’t count them as daily greens.

[Deleted User]

I’m not really sure about twigs but I’d be inclined to regard them as more fiber then green. But flowers, personally I’d avoid marigolds! I’ve seen them listed on both toxic and safe lists (in one place the same webpage has them on both lists, … confusing) so I’d play it safe and skip them. The House Rabbit Society has edible flowers ( and then specifically mentions roses, pansies, hibiscus and Nasturtiums) listed in their lists of greens. They (rabbit.org) are an excellent reliable resource, and I’ve often checked their suggested vegetable list.

[Bam]

I sort of disagree about the twigs: Bark and/or particularly the under-layer between the bark and the stem (I don’t know the proper term) is nutritious. In olden days livestock were fed lots of twigs during winter when they couldn’t graze. Trees like alder and willow were cut in a certain way to make them sprout as many twigs as possible. In rural areas in Sweden you can still see old trees that still bear marks of this type of pruning. There’s lots of minerals and probably calories as well in bark and the sub-layer. The woody part is mostly fibers though. My buns just eats the bark-parts and leaves the wood.

But twigs are not a leafy green of course unless there are leaves left on them. Plus they are chewy but with nutritional value. The tannins in bark is good for their stomachs.

If you have a garden, it’s really great to cut fresh twigs for your bun. I give mine alder and willow and hazel and beech but apple is their big-time favourite.

In a garden you often get weeds and luckily, bunnies eat many types of weeds, you don’t have to purposely grow everything they need to eat. Ground-elder and dandelion are 2 exampels of great bunny-food.

[Bam]

Posted By Grey Dove on 05/21/2013 12:28 AM
I’m not really sure about twigs but I’d be inclined to regard them as more fiber then green. But flowers, personally I’d avoid marigolds! I’ve seen them listed on both toxic and safe lists (in one place the same webpage has them on both lists, … confusing) so I’d play it safe and skip them.

GD, I think this could be due to wordly confusion. There are two quite different “species” of flowers called marigolds in the English language, tagetes (“gem marigold”) and calendula officinalis, “English marigold”. Among the tagetes varites the tagetes erecta (“Mexican” or “African” marigold) is ok to eat and not only that, it’s enourmously healthy because it contains lots of lutein. Pic: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Tagetes_erecta_Blanco2.404b.png

But there are also many other in-edible types of tagetes grown only for decorative purposes, like French marigold (tagetes patula).

The calendula officinalis is a whole different plant, and the flowers are often used in sallads for people. Here’s a pic:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9224LCnw-PM/TPQrFiouyaI/AAAAAAAAAR4/dur1CNR5Qlg/s1600/calendula_officinalis.jpg

This said, just because a plant or flower CAN be eated by buns safely, doesn’t mean it WILL be eaten by buns. My bun Bam + the wild rabbits in my allotment garden devours the leaves and stems of tagetes erecta (I have to fence them in with chicken-wire to keep the wild buns from eradicating them) but leave the flowers. The calendula I grew purposely for Bam was shunned completely. I did dry the flowers and have been using them when I bake bread (for humans) though, so it wasn’t a complete waste.

 

[Eucalyptus]

I wouldn’t consider them a green, but, as bam mentioned, they are still VERY nutritious. They’re also fibrous, which is excellent for any bunny’s well-being. Basically, you wouldn’t want to ever feed a diet of JUST sticks/twigs, unlike leafy greens, however, they’re still an excellent source of nutrients, as well as being good for their dental health. Flowers are very good for them, too, but aren’t considered leafy greens either. Don’t be afraid to include them in salad, though!

I personally give our bunny a huge mixture of dried herbs, flowers, and roots, as well as twigs/sticks. Like hazelnut sticks. I wish I was lucky enough to have bunny safe trees to get sticks from!

And, just to echo bam, many weeds that end up in your garden are great for your bunny! Be sure to confirm the safety, of course, but they’re great weed wackers!

 

Oh, and I just noticed the above post … I have been personally feeding marigolds for a while now and can confirm their safety. 

[Deleted User]

Bam, Yes, I actually do know that there are two “marigold” types, and while I was unaware of calendula edible recipes for humans I know something of its medicinal properties. That said, another term for calendula is “pot marigold”, and I was very pleased to see this on one of the lists I mentioned. do imagine how delighted I was to check the toxic list on the same site and find both “pot” and “regular” marigolds on that one. Disappointing since I have masses of dried petals that never made it into soap and I’d hoped to finally be able to share them with someone appreciative. The information was inconclusive but I did see pot marigolds on some other lists of toxic plants too (and yes, when the correct name is written out it is the Calendula), so I preferred to be cautious rather then sorry. I’ve been so busy introducing new things to my rabbits one at a time I sort of forgot about this, but I think I’m going to go drop a line to an expert. I’ll share her response when I get it.

[Deleted User]

PS Bam, any chance you might be able to pm that bread recipe to me? I’d love to try it Please!

[Bam]

GD, great! I too would want to know about the calendula for bunnies since neither the wild ones nor Bam would have anything to do with it.

When I bake bread I just add a couple of handfuls of dry petals to the dough, late in the kneading-process. It makes the bread very pretty!

Tagetes erecta I do the same thing with.

Plus I let petals draw in veggie oil and then make creams with bees-wax. Do you make soap yourself? I’d love to try that!

[Deleted User]

Bam, thank You! I’ll definitely give adding it to bread a try. (Finally something to do with those organic flowers.)

Yes an oil infusion made from calendula is excellent for skin (on its own or in ointments creams and soap), and it is particularly recommended for baby products. I am a soap maker, and aside from its beneficial properties calendula is popular since unlike almost any other plant additive it retains its attractive colour through the process.

If you want to talk soap please feel free to contact me, … but I guess we should return to the thread’s topic.

[Eucalyptus]

*raises hand*

Maybe my post was overlooked, but I do feed marigolds to my bun. He loves them, and there’s been no ill effects. It’s been over a month since I started, so that’s pretty good confirmation as we’d see the effects right away if there was a problem. Not sure if it matters, but they’re dried flowers. There’s no more information in the ingredients (it’s among a mix of other dried herbs and flowers) than “Marigolds.”

“Marigold” is also listed on the BB safe greens page, as well.

Just wanted to repeat that since it’s always comforting when you hear first hand that someone feeds it all the time safely. Hope this helps!

Also, about that bread … do the petals just add color or does it affect the taste? I just mean in a significant way.

[Bam]

The petals don’t add any noticeable extra flavour to the bread but if you eat them straight up they’re kind of bitter.

[Deleted User]

I wrote to Dana Krempels, asking her about whether or not marigolds (Either variety!) are safe to feed, with her permission I am pasting the relevant part of her response below.

“Marigolds and some other asterids produce pyrethrins that deter
herbivorous insects. The amount you’d find in a few flowers is probably
not going to harm an animal as large as a human. And a bunny would
probably not be harmed by eating a little. But the quantity of secondary
compounds in any plant can very from individual to individual, and by
region. So one can never be sure.

My bunnies have nibbled marigolds and other daisy-family flowers without
harm. I think it’s probably a question of dosage.”

After reading that I’ll continue to avoid feeding them, … I’d prefer not to run the risk, … there are all sorts of other truly safe tasty things for them to eat.

[Eucalyptus]

The same could be said about veggies high in oxalic acids. Sure, giving 5 lbs of spinach and mustard greens a day would yield ill results, but we all still feed these greens in small amounts because they’re extremely healthy for them. Also, it should be noted that the majority of plants have a sort of defensive “toxin” in them. The effects depend on what living organism ingests it, and how much.

Not to argue, but just pointing out those facts based on the logic. I totally understand being cautious, as I’m the same way. I don’t feed anything that I haven’t cross-referenced tons of sites or gotten confirmation on here that many people feed whatever it is with no negative impact.

I wonder if drying the marigolds would neutralize or “kill” the toxin, as that’s what I feed. Java never gets more than one a night, and it’s not even everynight because they’re part of a very diverse mix of other dried herbs and flowers, so I doubt he’s ever in harm’s way.

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