Euphorbia in rabbit feed, is it possible or not?
To breed and breed rabbits, you need to understand what kind of nutrition is right for them. Can euphorbia be given to rabbits? The answer is ambiguous and controversial. Someone adds euphorbia to the diet, but someone believes that this is not recommended and it is very dangerous for rabbits. Some are sure of the medicinal properties of this plant and think that it cannot harm the animal. The correct answer to this controversial issue can be obtained only by considering in detail all yes and no.
Is it possible to give euphorbia to rabbits
Rabbits are one of the most unpretentious and profitable pets. When breeding and maintaining 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 types of milkweed. The main reason for the question of whether it is possible to give euphorbia to rabbits is the presence of euphorbin in the plant. Depending on the dose of this poisonous substance, the rabbit may have health problems. Scientists have not fully figured out how and why this plant affects the animal's body so much.
Euphorbia is a weed that is used in folk medicine, dried and given to other animals for feeding or poisoning bugs with them.
Such a plant, if you are not careful with it, can harm a person: leave burns on the body, eyes, sinuses. Eating it is also strictly prohibited.
Since rabbit feed is prepared in advance, some farmers take the risk and add the plant in small doses to other grass. Animals do not need fresh grass every day, so the owners neglect this danger and continue to feed them in this way. Sometimes the reason that the rabbits did eat the euphorbia may be that the farmer mows the grass in the fields and meadows where this weed grows. They don't notice it, it dries up and gets into the feed.
An alternative plant species is sow thistle.
These two plants are very similar, but differ in their properties. Sow thistle is absolutely harmless to animals, and they eat it with pleasure, so some farmers, confusing euphorbia with sow thistle, believe that the former is harmless to rabbits. The main thing to remember: if you do decide to feed animals with milkweed, it must be well dried, and only adults are allowed to give it.
Useful and harmful properties of milkweed
There are about 50 more or less harmless species of such a plant. Only in Russia there are 150 species of this herb. It is one of the most common field plants. But they can grow both by the road and in the garden. It is very often used for feeding animals, but only in a well-dried form. This herb can help to heal some of the diseases of the furry.
Scientists have not yet fully investigated the beneficial and harmful properties of milkweed.
Some argue that everything depends solely on the variety. In some plants, there may be a high amount of poison, while in others there may be an almost complete absence of it.However, this does not prove complete harmlessness. Farmers should think carefully before feeding their animals with such a product. Even in a perfectly dried state, the plant can harm, whatever the variety it may be. No one gives a guarantee that euphorbia is not dangerous for a person. The properties of this plant have not yet been studied, and knowledge about it lies on the surface.
Such a herb has more beneficial properties from the medicinal side. There are many recipes and tinctures from this plant. All parts of the stem and root are used for treatment. It is harvested at the peak of flowering: from May to early July. Milky juice is most often used to treat ulcers, edema, and even helps after being bitten by animals infected with rabies. Milk tea tinctures help with hemorrhoids, headaches, fungal diseases. But this is all traditional medicine, so it is better to see a doctor than to be treated with different decoctions and tinctures. They can do much more harm if the recipe is not followed correctly.
Is it possible to feed rabbits with milkweed
The harmful and poisonous substance euphorbin, which is contained in this plant, can harm rabbits very much, bringing:
- irritation of the mucous membranes and inflammation;
- upset stomach and digestion: will burn them from the inside;
- disorders of the heart;
- cramps, as a result of which paws can be taken away.
Due to the fact that there are about 150 species of this plant on the territory of Russia, it is impossible to determine which of them is less harmful. If you overlook what the animal eats or what you give it yourself, you can lose the young. 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 complementary food (non-main product) only to adults. Adult rabbits are not as sensitive to euphorbin as young rabbits. In dried form, the amount of poisonous substance is also less.
It can be easily replaced with other healthy, but absolutely harmless delicacies: clover, potatoes, hay, herbs or alfalfa, because no matter how dried or mixed in other herbs, this does not give a complete guarantee that the amount of poison that is left in plant, not enough to poison the rabbits. If you still want to add a plant, then it is better to get rid of the stems: no matter how dry they are, they will still contain a sufficient amount of a poisonous substance. But first, it is important to think about whether it is worth giving knowingly poisonous and dangerous food to your darlings.
Summing up
While some farmers take the risk of feeding their rabbits such a plant, this does not absolve them of the responsibility that they do so at their own risk. Can euphorbia be given to rabbits? 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 afterwards? Definitely not. This does not give farmers any guarantee that the poisonous substance euphorbin will not affect the rabbits in any way. The body may not react immediately, but as the euphorbin builds up, the reaction can be quite painful.
Even if there are less harmful species of such a plant, it is not a fact that most of them are located in Russia and that someone will look for this harmless weed bush. There is only one thing to say: there are many different foods that are healthy and harmless to rabbits. It is better to take care of the health of your pets, monitor their diet and pamper them with tasty but healthy food.