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Image JPEG image Burdock
In the UK, two types of burdock, Greater burdock (Arctium minus) and Lesser burdock (Arctium lappa) may be found on waste ground, verges, and hedgerows. The picture shows Greater Burdock. It is a large plant with big leaves. Although the plant is not poisonous, the seed heads can cause problems as they are large and stick strongly to clothes and animal fur.
Located in Media / / FORAGING / PLANTS TO AVOID
Image Pascal source code Buttercup leaves
Buttercups are often included in lists of poisonous plants because, during its flowering stage, the plant contains a toxin, protoanemonin, which is released when the plant is crushed. It is a volatile, bitter, yellow oil that is prone to spontaneous polymerization to yield innocuous anemonin. Protoanemonin is degraded by drying, so hay containing dried buttercups is safe. Rabbits do not eat buttercup leaves and there are no reports of buttercup poisoning in rabbits. There are reports in other species in situations where buttercups are all that is left in overgrazed fields and the animals eat them out of desperation.
Located in Media / / FORAGING / PLANTS TO AVOID
Image JPEG image Celandine
Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) is a common spring plant that grows from root tubers. It is a member of the buttercup family, so, theoretically, it might be poisonous. It is better left alone when foraging for rabbits, although it will not matter if a few leaves make their way into picked forage because the leaves are not palatable, and they will be left uneaten.
Located in Media / / FORAGING / PLANTS TO AVOID
Image JPEG image Celery leaved buttercup
Celery leaved buttercup (Ranunculus scleratus) grows in wet and moist places, such as ponds and streambanks. It classed as toxic to humans because it contains an irritant that can cause blisters in humans that touch it. There are no reports of problems with rabbits.
Located in Media / / FORAGING / PLANTS TO AVOID
Image JPEG image Wild Cherry
Wild cherry (Prunus avium) is a common tree in UK. The leaves contain cyanogenic glycoside. The leaves, twigs and branches should not be offered to rabbits.
Located in Media / / FORAGING / PLANTS TO AVOID
Image JPEG image Dock (old leaves)
Rabbits find old dock (Rumex obtusifolius) leaves less palatable than the young ones. It is unlikely the rabbits will eat them. Older leaves tend to gain a red colour and usually have scars on them. These dock leaves contain oxalic acid which could be hazardous if consumed in larger quantities.
Located in Media / / FORAGING / PLANTS TO AVOID
Image JPEG image Field Bindweed
Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) can be differentiated from Hedge Bindweed (Calystegia sepium) by the smaller, often pink, flowers on plants that creep along the ground on verges, waste ground and hedge bottoms. The plant is known to contain alkaloids that affect other species, such as horses and mice, if they eat large quantities. The effects on rabbits are unknown but it is a plant that is best left alone.
Located in Media / / FORAGING / PLANTS TO AVOID
Image ECMAScript program Foxglove leaves
Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) are common hedgerow plants that are easy to recognise when they are in flower. It is a biennial plant and in the first year, it forms a clump or rosette of leaves (see photo). In the second year, this rosette produces the flower spike – which may be up to 2 metres in height. All parts of the plant, including the roots and seeds, may contain a toxin, which is a cardiac glycoside, digitalis. It is inadvisable to pick foxgloves leaves for rabbits although it is unlikely that the rabbits will eat them.
Located in Media / / FORAGING / PLANTS TO AVOID
Image JPEG image Oak
Oak trees contain tannins although the content varies with the season and part of the tree. There are high concentrations in acorns and there are documented cases of acorn poisoning in other species. In moderation, tannins are not poisonous. They are present in tea. Rabbits will not be harmed if they eat some oak leaves, although they are not a good choice to pick when foraging. It is sensible to avoid feeding acorns although wild rabbits seem to enjoy them without coming to any harm.
Located in Media / / FORAGING / PLANTS TO AVOID
Image JPEG image Ragwort
Common ragwort (Senecio jacobea) is well known as a poisonous weed. It has attractive yellow flowers and easily recognisable leaves. It also has a very unattractive taste to rabbits and other mammals. When dried or if there is nothing else to eat, animals might eat it. The toxins cause permanent and sometimes fatal liver damage in horses and it should be pulled up in pastures where horses graze or meadows that hay is taken from. In verges and other places where horses do not graze it is can be left alone as it is an important plant for wildlife notably the Cinnabar moth. Although there are no reported cases of ragwort poisoning in rabbits, it is better not to pick it even though it is unlikely to be eaten.
Located in Media / / FORAGING / PLANTS TO AVOID