Which Veggies/ Herbs are Extra Gentle?

[Jenk]

My bun Zoe can go into stasis over minor stuff (e.g., eating oat hay, a small amount of endive, etc.). You get the picture.

So I'm seeking foods (besides timothy hay) that I might try her on to give her at least some extra nutrition. (She can't handle pellets.)

Her vet recommends red- or green-leaf lettuce and parsley. But sometimes local grocery stores have bad-looking produce; so other options are good to know.

Thank you,

Jenk

 

[naturestee]

Most stuff in the mint family is gentle on stomachs and can even treat some mild stomach upsets. They're also easy to grow in pots indoors or out. Common mint family herbs are mint (of course), lavender, rosemary, lemon balm, basil, and sage.

 

[Jenk]

naturestee wrote:

Most stuff in the mint family is gentle on stomachs and can even treat some mild stomach upsets. They're also easy to grow in pots indoors or out. Common mint family herbs are mint (of course), lavender, rosemary, lemon balm, basil, and sage.

Sage! Egads! I came thisclose to buying sage tonight but was uncertain as to how gentle it is on the digestive system. (I need something with some surface area to put Zoe's medicine on it.) Looks like I might be running back to the grocery store tomorrow to get some Sage. :?

Don't get me wrong, Naturestee. I'm grateful for the information. I plan to try growing peppermint myself, so as to be able to feed it regularly to my girls. (I find that the small containers of herbs offered at the store are expensive and usually not fresh.)

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Jenk, do you have Meijer stores there? they usually have real nice produce!

My Bo gets small and hard poos if he doesn't get a pretty similar diet, and then if he gets too many greens.... soft poos!

Something that all the bunnies get is cilantro (corriander - fresh) and they love it and it's gentle on them. It's kinda smelly at first if you aren't used to it but now we love that smell!

I also give them a small bit of romaine, red leaf or green leaf now and then.

Bo also LOVES the pet grasses you can get in the organic area. BUT they can mold really easily so I just get them and pay the price but let them eat and throw it out and I don't worry about keeping it growing. That's usually a special treat for them all - Bo thinks he needs to eat the entire thing! LOL!

Celery leaves (not the celery tho) are easy for him as well.

I buy a lot of things we will eat too and just give them a bit or the leaves. I give my bunnies a tiny pinch of rolled oats each day or a small little bit of banana - like a coin sized cut in half.... about 1/4 inch thick. It helps keep them regular I think. None of them are overweight now. Bo had been but now I worry he's too thin!

They love their Timothy hay from Oxbow!

 

[tonyshuman]

dandelion greens are good--most organic stores will have them. you can also pick them from outside if you know they've not been treated with chemicals. just remember to wash them!

 

[Jenk]

Bo B Bunny wrote:

Jenk, do you have Meijer stores there? they usually have real nice produce!

My Bo gets small and hard poos if he doesn't get a pretty similar diet, and then if he gets too many greens.... soft poos!

Something that all the bunnies get is cilantro (corriander - fresh) and they love it and it's gentle on them. It's kinda smelly at first if you aren't used to it but now we love that smell!

We do have Meijer here, but the store nearest us doesn't usually have good-looking produce whenever I'm there. (They over-saturate it with water, and it starts turning to mush and/ or turning black. Depresses me.)

Meijer originated in MI, where my husband is from; so we were shopping there years ago when we lived there. We were happy, though, when the store chain "followed us" to my home state of IL. :biggrin2:

I'll have to check to see if the local stores carry cilantro.

 

[Jenk]

tonyshuman wrote:

dandelion greens are good--most organic stores will have them. you can also pick them from outside if you know they've not been treated with chemicals. just remember to wash them!

I saw one bunch of dandelion greens at Meijer yesterday;it looked pitiful, so I skipped it in favor of decent-looking peppermint and cilantro. I've decided to start Zoe on mint.

Emma will be trying mint for the first time, too; but she'll likely be able to move on to the cilantro quickly. Zoe must move very slowly with new foods--especially if I'm to determine what one thing might contribute to her GI stasis bouts.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

That's so sad about your Meijer! That's the one part of the store I like but one of our stores is great and another is NASTY like you describe.

They were going to special order me greens that I wanted if that is what I wanted LOL! I said, no - you always have something I can use.

I also go to other stores and we have a WILD OATS organic market I pop in now and again.

 

[Leader of the Pack]

naturestee wrote:

Most stuff in the mint family is gentle on stomachs and can even treat some mild stomach upsets. They're also easy to grow in pots indoors or out. Common mint family herbs are mint (of course), lavender, rosemary, lemon balm, basil, and sage.

I'm a little embarressed to ask; but I didn't realize that rabbits could/would eat "lavender". We planted some this spring, mainly for the flowers. Is it something you would feed a bunny in their daily salad, or just something to give as an aid to their stomach upset. I'd appreciate any extra information you'd like to give about feeding lavendar. :thanks:

 

[Hazel-Mom]

Lavender is listed as one of the "safe" plants on many of the lists, however it is a very strong tasting herb, and not all rabbits like it. Mine never did.
I would use it very sparingly, if at all, since in herbal medicine oral use is not reccomended for children (i.e. they should not ingest it).
There is also a study published in 2007 in the " New England Journal of Medicine", which concluded that lavender and tea tree oils in some shampoos, soaps, and lotions may cause gynecomastia (breast development in a male) in some boys. A child hormone specialist at the University of Cambridge has claimed "... these oils can mimic oestrogens" and "people should be a little bit careful about using these products".
However, others have concluded that the concentration of lavender oils in such products would be too low to cause symptoms, but using "straight" oil (as used in aromatherapy) on the skin could have some adverse effects in some people.
B.T.W. the oils are mainly found in the flowers, so I don't know whether the leaves have the same effects, they should be a lot safer for your buns to eat. But, like I said, mine never wanted anything to do with lavender, not even the leaves.

 

[Leader of the Pack]

Hazel-Mom wrote:

Lavender is listed as one of the "safe" plants on many of the lists, however it is a very strong tasting herb, and not all rabbits like it. Mine never did.
I would use it very sparingly, if at all, since in herbal medicine oral use is not reccomended for children (i.e. they should not ingest it).
There is also a study published in 2007 in the " New England Journal of Medicine", which concluded that lavender and tea tree oils in some shampoos, soaps, and lotions may cause gynecomastia (breast development in a male) in some boys. A child hormone specialist at the University of Cambridge has claimed "... these oils can mimic oestrogens" and "people should be a little bit careful about using these products".
However, others have concluded that the concentration of lavender oils in such products would be too low to cause symptoms, but using "straight" oil (as used in aromatherapy) on the skin could have some adverse effects in some people.
B.T.W. the oils are mainly found in the flowers, so I don't know whether the leaves have the same effects, they should be a lot safer for your buns to eat. But, like I said, mine never wanted anything to do with lavender, not even the leaves.

Thank you Hazel-mom. I certainly appreciate the information. I'm sure Sidney can do without it, based on the information you've given. I was mainly growingto have some fragrant flowers to cut and bring inside.

Have you ever heard of anyone letting a rabbit chew on Catnip? I have a ton of it growing fresh for our cats and it's just beautiful. I let them have it fresh in the summer time. If it's a no-no I'll be sure and watch out for Sidney when I'm giving the cats a treat.

 

[tamsin]

Do you get blackberries over there? Blackberry leaves are meant to be excellent for tummies. If you can't find actual leaves you can probably get dried for making tea etc with.

 

[Jenk]

tamsin wrote:

Do you get blackberries over there? Blackberry leaves are meant to be excellent for tummies. If you can't find actual leaves you can probably get dried for making tea etc with.

Actually, we get blackberries in the grocery store, but they're leaf-free. I may just check with our local health-food store to see what they have in terms of blackberry leaves (presumably for tea).

 

[gentle giants]

tamsin wrote:

Do you get blackberries over there? Blackberry leaves are meant to be excellent for tummies. If you can't find actual leaves you can probably get dried for making tea etc with.

Hey, cool! I knew those darn prickly vines we have all over our property had to have some use, LOL. What about feeding them the berries, as a treat?

 

[tamsin]

Berries are fine as a treat - you may end up with purple bunnies though! If you get a lot you can freeze blackberries and use them later. I love blackberry & apple crumble or stewed over ice cream

 

[BlueGiants]

Oh! My bunnies LOVE the blackberry leaves I pick for them! (Keeps the vines in check too! Otherwise they'd be growing all over the place!)

I also grow Comfrey, mint and parsleyfor my rabbits. When they won't eat anything else, they'll munch a Comfrey leaf. I think it stimulates their appetite.I have found it to be easy on their stomach.

Can Zoe eat any fruits? I've found that they love fresh Papaya. And it seems to be easy on their stomach... even my delicate (senior citizen) mini rex doe.

 

[Jenk]

BlueGiants wrote:

I also grow Comfrey, mint and parsleyfor my rabbits. When they won't eat anything else, they'll munch a Comfrey leaf. I think it stimulates their appetite.I have found it to be easy on their stomach.

Can Zoe eat any fruits? I've found that they love fresh Papaya. And it seems to be easy on their stomach... even my delicate (senior citizen) mini rex doe.

Do you grow comfrey, mint and parsley outdoors or indoors? If indoors, I want to know the secret of how to do it--and how to grow enough of it to feed it daily.(I want to get Zoe onto 3-4 herbs and/or veggies to keep things consistent for her gut.)

I've not fedZoe any fruit. But the enzyme-probiotic that she's currently taking containsBromelain from pineapple. That probably doesn't count....If don't know that I'll ever give her fruit, all things considered. She loves leafy greens so much, they are a treat in her eyes. :biggrin2:

 

[BlueGiants]

No, I grow them outside, all around the sunny sides of my barn. I freeze the parsley and mint too. But it's never as good as fresh.

But I don't see why you can't get a couple of big pots of soil and grow parsley and mint. They grow like weeds. Just put them in a sunny spot and keep them watered. They don't have deep roots, so the pots don't have to be deep, just wide to accomodate a lot of plants.

 

[Bassetluv]

Yep, you should see my front lawn...it's full of mint! Actually I don't have a 'lawn' per se; I dug that up years ago because it was infested with white grubs. So after attempting to resod (a dismal failure on my part), I finally gave up and planted flowers instead. It was either that or pave the entire thing, paint it green and stick a few plastic daisies in for decoration.

The mint that I have here grows, as BlueGiants said, just like weeds. I was transferring a plant from my backyard to the front a couple of years ago and accidentally took a few sprigs of mint with it. And now it's become overrun with mint! And ironically, I never think to give any to the rabbits.

Guess what they'll be getting for dinner tonight

 

[Bassetluv]

Forgot to ask: What the heck is comfrey?