Eared pets are distinguished by good appetite and excessive sensitivity of the digestive organs, therefore, compiling their diet requires special attention in terms of feed safety. Euphorbia was controversial in this regard, as some rabbit breeders consider it deadly, while others, on the contrary, are useful. What effect does grass have on rabbits, is it possible to feed them with wards, and what this is fraught with - learn further from the article.

Can rabbits be given euphorbia

All types of milkweed botany are classified as poisonous vegetation. It spontaneously grows on roadsides, abandoned sites and cultivated farmland. Some summer residents are skilled at benefiting from the poisonous properties of this herb, using it as an insecticide.

In the composition of milky juice, abundantly flowing from damaged stems and foliage of the plant, eumformin was found. Scientists find it difficult to give a full description of this toxic substance, but they have already proved that it causes severe burns to the skin and mucous tissues, and also, irritating the membrane of the gastrointestinal tract, provokes serious inflammation and internal discomfort.

Beneficial features

According to veterinarians, it is possible to feed an euphorbia only to adults in a dry form - it is not for nothing that this grass with livestock grazing in a meadow freely passes by. But folk healers believe that with the help of toxic juice you can:

• cure eczema and inflammation of the skin;
• induce vomiting (if necessary);
• provoke a laxative effect.

It should be noted that the composition of milkweed has not been fully studied, as well as its properties, so there is no reason to make statements about the benefits of the plant. In addition: at home it is almost impossible to accurately guess the right dosage of a toxic substance, and its excess is fatal.

Did you know? Rabbits have excellent appetite. With their 28 teeth they gnaw through absolutely everything, and do not limit themselves in the amount of green feed. For example, in order to satisfy the nutritional needs of one adult eared, you may need more than half a bag of grass at a time.

Harm and Danger

Some adherents of the rabbit’s milk diet believe that the main mistake of breeders lies in choosing the wrong varieties of grass. Even scientific literature will not be able to dissuade them, since nowhere is there information on the amount of toxin contained in the plant. Therefore, while feeding euphorbia to eared pets, one must take into account the harm caused by the plant’s milky juice.

Once in the body, milkweed toxin:

• destructively affects the cardiac activity of the animal;
• causes seizures;
• provokes severe poisoning with a rapidly developing clinic (expressed by diarrhea, vomiting, complete refusal of food and lethargy).

Not every owner, in order to make sure whether a particular milkweed variety is dangerous, will agree to conduct such experiments on his livestock. Moreover, in the environment, the choice of forbs is quite wide.

Feeding rabbits with other herbs

For the full development and excellent health, the eared require a balanced and diverse diet. A significant proportion of it, especially in the summer season, is green feed.

Important! Experienced breeders advise strictly controlling the quantity and quality of drinking water in a drinking bowl for rabbits. In addition, it does not need to be boiled beforehand, since high temperatures contribute to the destruction of a significant part of the vital micro and macro elements in the composition of the liquid.

Which can be given

When choosing grass for rabbits, the owner should pursue the goal of not only satisfying the pet’s hunger, but enriching his body with the necessary plant proteins, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Moreover, in the process of chewing such food, the animal must naturally sharpen its teeth.

The following herbs are useful for rabbits:

• alfalfa;
• dioica nettle (only young scalded shoots are suitable for use);
• carrot tops;
• dandelions (in excess can cause disruptions in the digestive organs);
• clover (preferably wild);
• shoots of dill;
• plantain;
• tansy;
• Jerusalem artichoke (only the aerial part of the culture);
• young burdocks;
• celery leaves (preferably young);
• greens and parsley roots;
• stalks of young thistle;
• basil;
• yarrow;
• Stalks and leaves of strawberries.

Important! On average, a healthy, mature rabbit should consume about 800–1000 g of grass daily.

Prohibited Views

Even novice rabbit breeders know that wet and moldy grass can ruin wards of animals. In addition, it is strictly forbidden to feed with eared greens collected on the sidelines of dusty busy roads and near production areas. However, the prohibitions do not end there. Indeed, in nature there are many poisonous herbs, the smallest particles of which can kill a pet.

The following plants were included in the list of prohibited:

• euphorbia (vomiting, diarrhea and convulsions occur as a result of poisoning);
• Swamp Wingfly (provokes increased salivation, flatulence, general weakness and anxiety);
• hemlock (causes convulsive paralysis and a decrease in body temperature to critical levels);
• poisonous milestone (causes bloating, cramps, malfunctioning of the respiratory organs and general anxiety);
• ordinary dope (causes paralysis and disturbances in the cardiovascular system);
• cornflower (provokes diarrhea, vomiting and convulsive paralysis);
• sleep-grass (provokes diarrhea, shortness of breath, decreased heart activity and paralytic attacks);
• buttercup (causes increased salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, flatulence and pain in the abdomen);
• wrestlers (stimulate a slowdown in heart activity; in the process of intoxication, the pulse decreases, body temperature, breathing slows down, diarrhea and increased salivation begin);
• hellebore (causes trembling of the body, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps and stimulates the slowdown of the heartbeat, as well as breathing);
• autumn colchicum (provokes general weakness, weakness, refusal to feed, bloating, diarrhea, salivation);
• digitalis ordinary (causes vomiting, nausea, lack of appetite, diarrhea, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, arrhythmia, and increased heart rate);
• celandine (during digestion is expressed by weakness, diarrhea, cramps and eating disorder);
• marsh marigold (provokes bloating, intestinal colic, frequent urination);
• medicinal avran (in rabbits causes diarrhea, vomiting and inflammation of the mucous membranes of the digestive tract);
• cockle (causes paralysis, weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, heart and kidney failure).

Important! To prevent intoxication of the eared, the owner must carefully monitor that poisonous vegetation does not fall into the armful of freshly picked grass, and in no case harvest green fodder after rain or dew. Before feeding, the workpiece must be washed and dried.

How to feed rabbits

Rabbit youngsters are characterized by rapid weight gain and excellent appetite. But the scheme of its feeding is significantly different from the adult population, since we are talking about emerging immature organisms. With the right balanced diet, four-week-old rabbits will increase their body weight by 10 times, maintaining this dynamics every next month.

Suitable feeds:

1. Green - allowed sun-dried alfalfa, wild clover, carrot tops, greens, wheat grass, mouse peas, wormwood.
2. Rough - we are talking about clover hay, as well as dried nettles, hops, knotweed, dandelion, straw from lentils, peas, oats. In addition, it is very useful for rabbits to give branches of birch, ash, maple, poplar, pear, acacia, apple, willow, aspen.
3. Juicy - fruits of carrots, zucchini, seedless cucumber pulp, tomatoes, turnips, green peas, cabbage, beans, Jerusalem artichoke tubers, pears, apples, grapes, melons, watermelons, gooseberries, cranberries, blueberries, sea buckthorn, rose hips, currants, strawberries, fresh figs (not dried fruits), silage.
4. Concentrated - ideally consist of grass meal of cereal crops, sunflower meal, wheat bran, food yeast.
5. Animal origin (fish and meat and bone meal).
6. Food waste - fresh, high-quality cabbage leaves, cereals (except rice), pasta, low-fat soups, potatoes, soaked crackers from brown bread crusts, vegetable peeling, substandard root vegetables, fruits, vegetables, melon, and corn stalks.
7. Vitamin and mineral supplements - berries, granular potassium-calcium supplements, salt blocks, chalk stones.

Did you know? A rabbit weighing 2 kilograms requires the same amount of drink as a dog 5 times its size .

If a small rabbit in an armful of green food accidentally gets euphorbia, in a few minutes his health condition will worsen, his body temperature will decrease, and he will begin to have diarrhea, vomiting and cramps. The torment of the animal will be short-lived, because even a few drops of milkweed milk juice (including sluggish) are fatal for a fragile organism.

What to put in the trough of your pet, decide for yourself. We hope that our article will help you choose the right grass and prepare it for the upcoming feeding of animals, as well as warn them of poisoning.