Can I feed that Weed to my Rabbit?

     I have found myself quite torn this week between researching what fresh picked weeds to feed my rabbits and researching what snorkeling masks will be good for our summer vacation! The masks can be rather expensive, so I got discouraged...the Weeds win! Mostly because they are free, and I have a surplus! And well...the garden needs weeding :) I do like instant gratification!

 

   I have found a great rabbit forum online, if you are a rabbit enthusiast I highly recommend checking them out! Great people with lots of friendly advise and information. Please see links at the bottom of the page! When I dive into a project I try my best to read everything I can about the subject...but I have to admit the best available information seems to come from the hands on experience of real live people, not just the experts! I have found so much shared knowledge in Forum Users!  I am part of a few forums really, that I use fairly regularly....koiphen.com (for the koi ponders out there), Rabbittalk for the rabbitries out there, and talkbudgies/talkcockatiels, for all your pet bird needs. When using a forum you will find people from all over the world from the simple novice to an expert, all walks of life...all sharing there advise with you...and with such pleasure! I just love forums for learning....so if you haven't tried registering with a forum in your area of interest or hobby, I really wish you'd give it a shot...there is so much to learn out there! And share!!!!  You may be surprised how much you enjoy it! 

Florida betony

   
     So back to the weeds! I was reading about natural feeding and foraging for the rabbits....here in Central Florida, the one thing we are NOT lacking in, is a healthy variety of lawn weeds! So out came my camera and a quick trip was taken around the yard for weeds that grew in plentiful that could become a supplement staple in the diet of my bunnies! I found a quick dozen I needed to check out!

    I know some may not seem like weeds, like the passion flower and the wedelia, but if the conditions are right these are two of those plants that, by mid summer you are swearing at and condemning to a good dose of round up...not that I ever would.....use the round up that is :) But none the less I have such a surplus of some particular plants...that it would be fabulous to be able to share my xtra's with the bunnies....After all...who doesn't love work with a purpose...I'd be killing two birds with one stone...(did I just say that?) What a horrible expression...when you think about it.... Okay, two jobs would be getting accomplished, my yard would probably be the most weed free it has ever been and the rabbits would be getting fed, and I would be saving money on rabbit food....it's a win, win, win!!!!! Here are the main staples in my own yard that I hoped were safe for my bunnies to eat: I have successfully fed the following items to my rabbits without ill effects or have researched to there safety or not. By far the greatest treat to date has been the Mulberry leaves! SAFE!

 We started with feeding the fruits, which they loved, then once I researched some more, I learned the twigs are a great treat as well for gnawing on, and they happily strip the bark off as many as they can as quickly as they can! All prunings are now kept...After confirmation from a the great Rabbittalk forum, I tried the Mulberry leaves...they were a hit also! Especially right now, as they have huge new-growth leaves....the buns come a runnin'.  Another crazy weed in my yard that I'd love to knock down a bit is the Spanish needle, Bidens bipinnata. SAFE!

 I have a tender place in my heart for it, since the butterflies seem to swarm it in the summer....I leave a little area growing that forms a large mat, not only do most use it as nectar food, but it a a host plant for the Dainty Sulphur butterfly and at night I think they gather under it for protection too! So it STAYS...but it readily escapes this secluded area and pops up EVERYWHERE!  After reading more about it, I found that we can also benefit from it ourselves! I cooked us up a batch...hmmm, "like spinach" they said...I think "not". The husband says I just don't know how to cook it. LOL, he is "the cook" in our house (thank goodness).....next time he will try cooking it like greens with bacon fat! How fun is that! The third weed/plant that has become quite a nuisance since planting is... Wedelia, wedelia tribobata.  SAFE

 I do love the way it jumps, runs, and blooms throughout the shady areas, making for a wonderful woodland setting...but it can get way out of bounds once the Florida summer rains start...so this will be a huge staple for rabbits. It took a little research on this one, but I found some research that had been done on food supplements for rabbits that included this plant. I have posted a link: http://www.mekarn.org/prohan/kdong2.htm. Though it appears the nutritional value is not high, it will still give my weeded Wedelia purpose! I just hate pulling out such huge clumps of a vibrantly living plant....even if it is a nuisance, so being able to use it for a fiber source for the buns will make it worth it! The fourth plant on my ...please please let my rabbits be able to eat it list is the passion vine!  I will never live without one, but the runners are poppin' up everywhere...and though the Gulf Fritillaries and Zebra Longwing can keep it somewhat in check, sometimes through the summer, huge amounts of vines have to be pulled out of the crape myrtles before they suffocate! Some vines just get away from us Southern Gardeners that way :) The passion flower I have is the native passiflora incarnata. NOT determined SAFE

 I have frequently shared the flowers with my Koi....and they love them, and I have read that the fruit and flowers are safe, but as of this writing I have been unable to confirm that the rabbits would be safe to eat the foliage! I have read conflicting reports...so the jury is still out. To error on the side of caution I will hold off until I can confirm if they are safe or not.....Maybe one of you have some personal experience with this one! Leave a comment and let me know! The last flowering weed I have allowed to grow in the garden, and is getting out of hand quickly is Florida Betony, Stachys Floridana SAFE (picture above) This is a nice easily pulled weed I often shared with the chickens to....Nice to know a few animals will benefit from it now!

       There are still quite a few others I need to confirm before trying, but given the list of safe plants for the rabbits and the few I researched on my own, my buns should have more than a dozen foraging items available just from our backyard. Please do..share with me the common weeds or plants you supplement with for your rabbits!
   
       On a side page is a great compilation LIST OF SAFE plants from a great gal , Maggie, from Rabbittalk: http://rabbittalk.com/. (Did I already mention what a great forum that is)  LOL....Some are from her personal experience, having fed her own rabbits and the rest are known to be safe, but with anything...please don't take our word on it, do some research of your own, make sure you identify your weeds correctly and above all..know your bunnies and study their behaviors. Now when you rabbit lovers take a walk around the yard and pull a few weeds...don't forget that one person's weed is ...well....another rabbit's dinner!  They will thank you for it! Thanks for stopping by my page...please leave me a message so I know you passed through! And if you haven't already....don't forget to spread some seed!       - janine

koiphen.com

rabbittalk.com

talkbudgie.com

Isaiah 40 6-8:

"All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it;  surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever".

The Flycatcher comes home

An Earlier writing from a few years back....

      

JUNE 2009:   OMGosh what a glorious day in our garden. This season in our backyard we have had the privilege of watching a pair of Bluebirds return to their shanty and raise two clutches, another pair of bluebirds moved into a new box (or the 1^st pair upgraded finally), and they are in the midst of raising a family right nowJ  and as I write you can hear our red bellied woodpecker baby chirping away each time mom and dad come back with a tasty morsel for it. 

"The Red Bellied Woodpecker"

    The wrens also have returned to the posts of the above ground pool, and the mockingbirds are forever swooping down on us and the dogs, protecting whichever of the nests it finally managed to start a family in. But to my surprise we managed to entice a titmouse to move into a house, I was very excited until I realized unfortunately it was, at the expense of the flycatcher that visits our backyard each year, actually…the very first bird to take up residence here. It was my first homemade birdhouse. It was designed for a woodpecker or an owl, but I was just as happy to see that unfamiliar bird sitting high on a perch on the tallest thing in our backyard 6 years ago.  She came back year after year, even when Hurricane Charlie took out our pine tree pole, and we used a shorter 4x4 for replacement, she still nested there. 

"My Fly Catcher"

     Last year I got worried because the perch had fallen off, and I kept forgetting to find a new one. Upon her return though, under a watchful eye I quickly hot glued a new one in place. Yet again she moved right in, to raise her babies.  She faithfully returned each and every year...and I faithfully looked forward to it.....

    So you can imagine how crushed I was the day she returned and I witnessed the titmouse that had already started a clutch of her own, swoop at her repeatedly to chase her away, with every attempt she made to move in.  It made my heart just ache.

     I quickly got to work and constructed a new house the exact dimensions of the last, and raised it high in the air, to the original 15 feet it was, souring above everything surrounding it. It took me just a few days, but that was not fast enough, and my sweet Flycatcher was not seen again. (That was April)……until this Sunday, that is, way up on the highest branch of the maple tree, looking guard, was no other than my sweet Flycatcher, the same treetop she has used for the last 6 years. The titmouse family have moved out, and I can only hope that she is giving her old home another chance, but whether or not she moves in this season remains to be seen. What I do know is this….she remembers…..and I feel pretty confident she will return again next year, to our yard looking for a home to raise her babies, now hopefully she’ll have a few to choose from! 

"The bluebirds"

   TODAY:  That was three long years ago.....and my sweet flycatcher did not nest that year, nor the season of 2010, or 2011....I watched and was disappointed every season....but this week as I sat out back watching all the songbirds crisscross across the yard in the new bird garden....there she was.....sitting high on the perch of "that" birdhouse, and she was going in! She was making it home!....It's been a very busy birdhouse over the past few years, it raises a few clutches each year, usually Bluebirds and Titmouse.....A young family of Bluebirds  just fledged  a few weeks ago and my daughter and I got to watch as the mom and dad coaxed their two babies into flying! Our first witness of an actual fledging...eeeeek 15 feet is a long way down for a bitty bird that can't yet fly!    

    As I sat outside this morning in awe of ALL the birds this yard attracts....I watched the wren making her second nest of the season on the patio, this time in the mushroom birdhouse the cuban tree frog was living in, and another pair of bluebirds are just finishing raising their first clutch out behind bunnyville, it's been a great season.....we also had our first flock of ceder waxwings visiting the mulberry bush, they stayed all month, along with plenty of catbirds who visit when the mulberries are ripe ..but nothing has made me smile as much as  knowing that our flycatcher is finally back home to raise another family.....She sits high on the tallest Sycamore branch and looks out over the entire yard now as I write.....She started coming here when we offered very little, her house at 15 feet was the tallest thing in the yard, now with all the trees and bushes grown well beyond that height, well....now she sits up there like she is Queen of the garden.........and righfully so....once again!

I hope the Spring Birds have returned to your yard...with a little food and shelter you may be surprised what will move right in! So don't forget....Spread some seed.....janine

Matthew 8:20

And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head

The Start of the Bird Garden

So I have decided to turn the area that was once the old Koi pond into "The Bird Garden" Only seems appropriate since I used to keep all the bird feeders around the fire pit which is now the New Koi Pond.....As they say "Tit for Tat" or well something like that!.....This Mocking bird sits greeting me as I walk through the garden gate....on the Fortuniana Rose bush...just starting to burst into blooms....With the pond up and running and the fish transferred...it was time to do some clean up around the place! I had procrastinated long enough. With clippers in hand I spent an entire day cutting all my roses back, pulling the passion Vine out of the Crape Myrtles and giving the Honeysuckle over the  chicken coops a heck of a hair cut! Shew.....the patio looks much better now. I placed some of the Xtra Cannas from the old pond into a galvanized tub on the patio with some other potted plants...it's 25 gallons, so I placed a small pump and filter to circulate the water...and now I can definitely see that we will need a few African Cichlids in that mini pond :) ssshhhh our little secret .......At the moment it's the home to the DH's 3 crawdads we found in the pond skimmer...Oh Well .....now back to the bird garden.....

So this is the spot just after the pond liner came out....I had enough dirt from the new pond dig and left over concrete from the demolition on the back porch to almost fill it up...I left the last 4-6 inches for peat and pine fines....my plan is for a bed of Caladiums here.....amongst the bird feeders....

This is the bones I'm starting with....The old frame from a garden swing upcycled to be a bird feeder holder, a few bird feeders from around the yard and a great sturdy concrete birdbath, along with a few bishop hooks....At this time I have some potted up African Iris around the border, but they are too big...I think I'll go with some Mondo grass instead...but after that first day...I felt like I was on my way...and no money out of pocket, just some things moved around...just like re-arranging the furniture :)

I'm a frugal gardener you know....so no stopping at the big box store and buying a few new bird feeders for me....Oh No...I would hit the Goodwill and thrift stores and find me some treasures! And yes I did! Can you say 

"SCORE"  

I will Make my bird feeders...

Okay....so you probably already figured that the Koi plates are my fav's...I still haven't figured where they will be incorporated...but they will...oh they most definitely will..... These sweet other finds, will soon be the beginnings of my bird garden.

 I  merged the Pink Vase and the white plate to make my first feeder....Okay...so drilling holes in glass....NOT so easy....don't try this one at home...Lucky for me I have access to a dental drill at work...and it was STILL a long and tedious project....I have to get some wire to hang it still...

 The next was the marriage of the matching Pink Mosaic Vase and Plate...(By the way)...bought a day apart and at two different thrift stores! They are mounted together on a metal Candle holder with mimicking shape.....How lucky am I.....Actually I don't rely on luck...I ask and God always seems to provide me with just what I need.....And it matched my Pink vase perfectly too...Do you see a theme here? I think the Azaleas in the yard have me inspired this month...I'm so easily swayed...Can't you just see a bed of Pink and White Caladiums around the foot of that feeder???

 Did I mention.....I do love me some azaleas!

And just a short time after...we had our very first visitors! 

 It sure has a ways to go.....but in just a few short days it is coming alive with birds and squirrels! A little paint on that swing frame, and a bed of caladiums and we shall have a little bird Haven! Native Blackberries grow entwined with the rosebush behind it and I plan on putting in a blueberry bush also....along with the neighboring Wax Myrtles and Mulberries....there should be plenty of food to keep the birds hanging around throughout the year...

Don't forget to spread some seed!  janine

I'll leave you with a quote from genesis:

 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so. Then God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:29-31)

OH My....The Tree Swallows Stopped By

Wow...WHAT A TREAT!    When I was a child one of my great memories was when the Tree Swallows would come through town in swarms...we would follow them as kids in hopes that they'd do one of there dives into a local Wax Myrtle Bush. Then we would run in and see how many we could touch...

As I walked out back today...the sky was dark with birds...In the back of my mind, for years, I had hoped by letting all those Wax Myrtles take over my back yard I'd have a pay off  some day...Well today was that day!

It was just magnificent....There were thousands of swallows everywhere...So many in fact that it sounded like it was raining on the tin roof of the chicken coop LOL...and  Yes, I was willing to risk it...though I did place a shirt over my head..... :)

It was so much fun to watch...it only takes one bird to land...then the WHOLE swarm tries to take over the Wax Myrtle for a luscious treat of berries....The tree turns black with birds as they all try to cling to the flimsy branches...

This time I watched, rather then chase after them as that little kid so many years ago..it took alot of self control I tell ya! I never realized how many..and how beautiful they are...They shine an iridescent blue, green shade over their black wings...just remarkable!

There is only a few times a year when we get such a sight in Florida...While they make their way to and from the North....Since it's been such a mild winter..I'm unsure if they are coming or going really.

At one point as I took my camera down to really take in the moment...I was sitting right amidst the swarm...they were whizzing just a foot from head, and they were everywhere.....Oh how I hope they come back this weekend...I would love to share this with my Daughter...who was off at school today :(

So like that great old movie line "If you build it...they will come" I have come to realize that in a garden "If you plant it they will indeed come" Wildlife is amazing that way! So plant something in your yard to bring in the birds and the butterflies...or what ever else you may love...And don't forget while your at it....sow some seed! Please let me know you visited by just saying Hi in a quick comment!   janine