Twigs That Are Safe For Rabbits to Eat, and Preparing Them

[Deleted User]

The idea of giving my rabbits twigs to chew is new to me, so I’m learning all I can about what is and isn’t safe.  I’m happy to buy some (like willow) but I live in a small town in a rural area and there are lots of trees locally.  I was told maple twigs are safe if they are baked?  How long would you bake and at what temperature?  Are there any twigs that are safe to give when they are fresh?  What about apple twigs, do they need to be baked?  Any additional info would be appreciated . 

 

I’m also interested in growing herbs indoors for my rabbit, I have a safe list of herbs from the excellent article about vegetables on rabbit.org, but any tips or hints about herbs for rabbits (fresh or dried) would be great.

 

Thanks very much,

Grey Dove

[Bam]

Apple-twigs are safe to give when they’re fresh, but make sure the trees have not been treated with pesticides. Apple-twigs can be given with or without leaves on them. The flowers are also rabbit-safe.

I give my rabbit apple-twigs every day and occasionally willow. Linden-twigs are also said to be ok, but my rabbit doesn’t want them.

I don’t bake any twigs.

Among herbs, mint is the BIG favourite with my rabbit. It’s super easy to grow and there are many varieties.

[Deleted User]

If I remember red maple was on the bad list of woods. Don’t quote me on it. I do believe that it was just the red maple variety that was bad but the others were okay. Since it’s hard for me to get my hands on maple that isn’t “red maple” I just stay away from it. Poplar is good. Not as expensive.

Your best route is to get willow sticks. Your buns will go through a ton of sticks in a short amount of time (at least in my case since I have three buns who are big chewers). So it saves a lot on money when you can get a bundle of willow since it is a cheaper wood to get a hold of.

If you are going to dry your own woods make sure that there are no pesticides that have been used near or on the tree that the wood is coming from.

I have a dehydrator that I use for drying herbs. I really like to use it for carrot tops since I have a hard time getting my hands on them. Dehydrating them keeps the tops around longer.

[Deleted User]

Thank you, that is reassuring!

I live surrounded by dary farms, so people are very animal conscious in general around here, not a lot of pesticides being sprayed. The apple tree I planned to share with my rabbits grows in a very animal aware friend’s back yard.
Manitoba maples are working hard to take over my back yard so trimming off a bit of them is always appealing (and I actually love trees, you couldn’t have made me believe I’d feel this way when I moved here eight years ago) so if I can dry them and use them that is terrific. There are also lots of other trees, sugar maples, poplars, and goodness only knows what else locally. I’ll be bugging people now about which trees they have and can I please have a bit.

Thanks again,
Grey Dove

[Deleted User]

I would double check on the maple. But poplar is good. And apple is always a favorite. =]

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