To breed and plant rabbits, you need to understand what kind of food is right for them. Can rabbits be given euphorbia? The answer is ambiguous and controversial. Someone adds euphorbia to the diet, and someone believes that this is not recommended and it is very dangerous for rabbits. Some are confident in the healing properties of this plant and think that it cannot harm the animal. The correct answer to this controversial question can be obtained only by examining in detail all yes and no.
Can rabbits be given euphorbia
Rabbits are one of the most unpretentious and profitable pets. When breeding and keeping them, their nutrition must be taken into account. At home, rabbits need to be fed and given grass, various greens, hay and some vegetables. The variety of herbs is huge, but not all of this list can be added to the diet.
Euphorbia: for or against?
There are more than 2 thousand species of milkweed. The main reason for the question whether it is possible to give rabbits euphorbia is the presence of euphorbin in the plant. Depending on the dose of this toxic substance, the rabbit may have health problems. Scientists have not fully understood how and why this plant affects the animal’s body in such a way.
Euphorbia is a weed that is used in folk medicine, dried and given to other animals for feeding or poison bugs.
Such a plant, if being careless with it, can also harm a person: leave burns on the body, eyes, and sinuses. Eating it is also strictly prohibited.
Since rabbit food is prepared in advance, some farmers take risks and add the plant in small doses to another grass. Every day the animals do not need fresh grass, so the owners neglect such a danger and continue to feed them in this way. Sometimes the reason that the rabbits nevertheless ate euphorbia may be because the farmer mows the grass in the fields and meadows, where this weed grows. They do not notice him, he dries and gets into the feed.
An alternative type of plant is field sow thistle.
These two plants are very similar, but differ in their properties. Sow thistle is absolutely harmless to animals, and they enjoy eating it, so some farmers, confusing euphorbia with sow thistle, believe that the first is harmless to rabbits. The main thing to remember: if you still decide to feed the animals with milk, it should be well dried, and only adults should give it.
Useful and harmful properties of milkweed
More or less harmless species of such a plant are about 50. Only in Russia there are 150 species of this herb. This is one of the most common field plants. But they can grow both on the road and in the garden. Very often used to feed animals, but only in a well-dried form. Such an herb can help cure some fluffy diseases.
Scientists have not yet studied the beneficial and harmful properties of milkweed to the end.
Some argue that it all depends entirely on the variety. In some plants, there may be a high amount of poison, while in others there may be an almost complete absence thereof. However, this does not prove complete harmlessness. Farmers should think before feeding their animals with a similar product. Even in a perfectly dried state, the plant can do harm no matter what variety it is. No one gives a guarantee that for a person euphorbia is not dangerous. The properties of this plant have not yet been studied, and knowledge of it lies on the surface.
Useful properties of this herb has more from the medicinal side. There are a huge number of recipes and tinctures from this plant. For treatment, all parts of the stem and root are used. It is harvested at the peak of flowering: from May to early July. Milk juice is most often used to treat ulcers, edema, and even helps after bites of animals infected with rabies. Milkweed tinctures help with hemorrhoids, headaches, fungal diseases. But this is all traditional medicine, therefore it is better to consult a doctor than to be treated with various decoctions and tinctures. They can do much more harm if the recipe is not followed correctly.
Is it possible to feed milkweed rabbits
The harmful and poisonous substance euphorbin, which is contained in this plant, can harm rabbits very much, bringing:
- mucosal irritation and inflammation;
- indigestion and digestion: burn them from the inside;
- heart dysfunction;
- cramps, as a result of which paws can be lifted.
Due to the fact that there are about 150 species of this plant in Russia, it is impossible to determine which one is less harmful. If you overlook what the animal eats or what you give it yourself, you can lose young animals. The main thing is to remember that if you still decide to give this type of green food, then it should be well dried and given as a complementary food (non-main product) only to adults. Adult rabbits are not as sensitive with euphorbine as young rabbits. When dried, the amount of toxic substance is also less.
It can easily be replaced by other useful, but absolutely harmless delicacies: clover, potatoes, hay, herbs or alfalfa, because no matter how dried or mixed in other herbs, it does not fully guarantee that the amount of poison left in plant, not enough to poison rabbits. If you still want to add a plant, it is better to get rid of the stems: no matter how they are dried, they will still contain a sufficient amount of toxic substance. But first, it is important to think about whether it is worth giving your obviously poisonous and dangerous food to your pets.
To summarize
Despite the fact that some farmers risk and feed their rabbits with such a plant, this does not relieve them of responsibility for the fact that they do this at their own peril and risk. Can rabbits be given euphorbia? Yes. In small quantities, in a well-dried form, only for adults, but you can feed them. Is it worth it for pets to suffer later? Definitely not. This does not give farmers any guarantee that the toxic substance euphorbin will not affect the body of rabbits. The body reaction may not appear immediately, but as euphorbin accumulates, the reaction can be very painful.
Even if there are less harmful species of such a plant, it is not a fact that most of them are located on the territory of Russia and that someone will seek out this harmless weed bush. There is only one thing to be said: there are many different products that are beneficial and harmless to rabbits. It is better to take care of the health of your pets, monitor their diet and indulge in a tasty but healthy food.
