What branches can be given to rabbits: benefits and harms, harvesting technology

In the diet of rodents, rough types of food must certainly be present. With their help, it is possible to replenish the lack of fiber and maintain normal metabolic processes in the body. In the cold period, instead of succulent fodder, farmers often use branches of trees or shrubs. Rodents can sharpen constantly growing incisors on such food. At the same time, it is important to know which branches can be given to rabbits.

What tree branches can be given to rabbits?

It is permissible to use branches of various trees for feeding rabbits. Most of them are easy to find. Animals like fruit trees and shrubs because they contain a lot of vitamins. These include the following:

grapes;
apple tree;
gooseberry;
blueberries;
currant;
rowanberry;
hawthorn.

Branches of deciduous crops are recommended to be introduced carefully, limiting their number. Most often, the following types of shoots are given to rodents:

linden;
weeping birch;
willow;
aspen;
walnut.

At the same time, oak bark and alder include many tannic components that can provoke constipation. Therefore, such food should be introduced into the diet of rabbits in the summer, when an excess of vegetables and herbs provokes diarrhea in them.

Birch is characterized by pronounced diuretic characteristics. Therefore, the constant use of such food provokes dehydration in rabbits.Willow helps to treat pathologies of the digestive system. However, you should not abuse it, as there is a risk of negative consequences.

Useful for rodents and needles. Animals like these branches:

spruce;
fir;
pine.

This food is allowed to be used for almost a whole year. At the same time, since February, they stop giving it to animals. This is due to the release of resin by the trees, which gives the branches a bitter taste. The needles contain many vitamins and bactericidal components. It is worth gradually adapting rabbits to it. To do this, it is recommended to give such food to rodents with an interval of 14 days. The indicated species of trees are allowed to be given to ordinary and decorative rabbits.

Benefits in the diet of rabbits

Sprigs of trees and shrubs are of great benefit to rabbits. They help animals grind their teeth and contain a lot of minerals, vitamins, and fiber. Thanks to this, animals manage to replenish the deficiency of valuable substances in the body. Such food is very relevant with a lack of hay.

The benefits of this food include the following:

economic benefit - this type of food is considered practically free;
availability - branches are allowed to be used from the beginning of spring to the end of autumn;
prevention of rabbit pathologies;
increase feed digestibility;
normalization of the functions of the digestive tract;
therapeutic effect - for example, willow shoots include antimicrobial components;
increasing the activity of animals - this improves their emotional state.

Which branches should not be given?

When using this type of food, it is important to understand that there are trees, fragments of which are strictly prohibited for animals. They contain toxic components, which can provoke negative consequences for the body of rodents.

According to experts, stone fruits include hydrocyanic acid. But the problem is not only the presence of this substance. So, in the shoots of cherries there is no hydrocyanic acid. However, they are still forbidden to be given to these rodents. This product includes many binders and tannins. They can harm rabbits.

Besides this, the shoots of such plants should not be used to feed the animals:

apricot;
elderberry;
plum;
peach;
lilac;
wolfberry;
cherry.

The composition of these branches really contains hydrocyanic acid or poisonous components that will bring great harm to rabbits.

How to feed?

Rabbits eat almost all kinds of trees. However, it is recommended to alternate such food periodically. Equally important is the gradual accustoming of rodents to this diet. It is undesirable to feed animals with such food every day. After 2 weeks of such nutrition, the animals are recommended to take a break for 10 days.

The best option is to use branches every other day. At the same time, it is important to be careful. In winter, it is not recommended to give needles to animals. From February, she releases resin, which makes food bitter.

Spruce shoots should be given infrequently as they contain a lot of essential oils. In case of infection of the respiratory system, the volume of such food can be increased. Larch is recommended to be given to animals quite rarely. It is important to consider that it helps to heal the respiratory organs.

Forage harvesting technology

Rabbits can eat branches throughout the year. However, it is best to use them in winter. In this case, it is permissible to pluck branches directly from trees. To facilitate the feeding of animals, raw materials can be harvested in the summer. At this time, wood includes a maximum of useful components.

Harvesting is recommended in June. In this case, it is worth giving preference to branches that have a lot of leaves. They contain a maximum of vitamins. It is not recommended to use branches of trees growing near highways or on city streets. They accumulate a lot of toxins.

Shoots of trees less than 1 centimeter thick are recommended to be collected in brooms and dried. Animals cannot eat thicker branches completely - they only gnaw at the bark. This type of food helps rodents sharpen their teeth.

As for needles, fresh shoots are the most useful. The best option is spring raw materials, which have barely blossomed buds. This food includes many vitamins and active ingredients.

Tree branches are of great benefit to rabbits. They allow you to sharpen your teeth and saturate animals with valuable substances. At the same time, it is important to understand which shoots will benefit rodents, since there are plants that contain many harmful substances.