Foraging For Our Furry Friends
What is forage? Forage is food that can be gathered from wherever it grows naturally.
It’s free food! Saves money on expensive shop bought herbs, fruit and vegetables and adds variety and enrichment to your rabbit’s diet.
It’s healthy, low in sugar and rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals.
Twigs and branches will help naturally wear your rabbit’s teeth down preventing dental disease.
Where do I collect forage? Any public hedgerows, footpaths, fields and woods
Avoid collecting forage from the roadside where it has been contaminated by exhaust fumes.
Avoid paths and verges used by horses and dogs or near poop bins.
Avoid areas where there is a high population of wild rabbits, ensure your rabbits are vaccinated
against RVHD 1 & 2 and myxomatosis.
Never collect plants you do not recognise and do not collect protected plants.
Wild Plants
There is a huge variety of plants that can be found locally. Most can be fed fresh at certain times of the year and some are better dried and stored for use in the winter months.
Here are some popular examples:
Bindweed (field & hedge)
Cranesbill
Grass
Camomile
Chickweed
Clover
Dandelion
Groundsel (small amounts)
Dead Nettle (red/white)
Herb Robert
Goosegrass
Mallow
Plantain (rib or broad leaf) Prickly Lettuce Silverweed Sow Thistle
Other wild plants worth mentioning include:
Campion (Red & White), Cinquefoil, Common Vetch, Cow Parsley (ensure you are confident picking this as can be mistaken for hemlock), Golden Rod, Good King Henry, Ground Elder, Hawksbeard,
Meadowsweet, Nettle, Nipplewort, Shepherd’s Purse, Willow herb, Yarrow.
Trees and Shrubs
Apple (including crab) Bramble Buddleia Dog Rose
Hazel Hawthorn Pear Willow
Drying and Storing Forage
To dry your forage simply cut into small pieces and lay on a thin layer of newspaper in a shallow tray or box and place in a dry area. Alternatively use a dehydrator if you have one.
For herbs and some long stemmed plants such as nettles tie into bunches and hang up to dry in a dry place or outside on sunny days.
Store your forage, when dried, in cardboard boxes to prevent mildew and rotting and leave in a dry area.
Plants that are particularly good for drying and giving as a forage mix include nettles, all the tree leaves, rose leaves and petals and buddleia.
If you would like a leaflet with photos of the plants mentioned please do get in contact.
What is forage? Forage is food that can be gathered from wherever it grows naturally.
It’s free food! Saves money on expensive shop bought herbs, fruit and vegetables and adds variety and enrichment to your rabbit’s diet.
It’s healthy, low in sugar and rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals.
Twigs and branches will help naturally wear your rabbit’s teeth down preventing dental disease.
Where do I collect forage? Any public hedgerows, footpaths, fields and woods
Avoid collecting forage from the roadside where it has been contaminated by exhaust fumes.
Avoid paths and verges used by horses and dogs or near poop bins.
Avoid areas where there is a high population of wild rabbits, ensure your rabbits are vaccinated
against RVHD 1 & 2 and myxomatosis.
Never collect plants you do not recognise and do not collect protected plants.
Wild Plants
There is a huge variety of plants that can be found locally. Most can be fed fresh at certain times of the year and some are better dried and stored for use in the winter months.
Here are some popular examples:
Bindweed (field & hedge)
Cranesbill
Grass
Camomile
Chickweed
Clover
Dandelion
Groundsel (small amounts)
Dead Nettle (red/white)
Herb Robert
Goosegrass
Mallow
Plantain (rib or broad leaf) Prickly Lettuce Silverweed Sow Thistle
Other wild plants worth mentioning include:
Campion (Red & White), Cinquefoil, Common Vetch, Cow Parsley (ensure you are confident picking this as can be mistaken for hemlock), Golden Rod, Good King Henry, Ground Elder, Hawksbeard,
Meadowsweet, Nettle, Nipplewort, Shepherd’s Purse, Willow herb, Yarrow.
Trees and Shrubs
Apple (including crab) Bramble Buddleia Dog Rose
Hazel Hawthorn Pear Willow
Drying and Storing Forage
To dry your forage simply cut into small pieces and lay on a thin layer of newspaper in a shallow tray or box and place in a dry area. Alternatively use a dehydrator if you have one.
For herbs and some long stemmed plants such as nettles tie into bunches and hang up to dry in a dry place or outside on sunny days.
Store your forage, when dried, in cardboard boxes to prevent mildew and rotting and leave in a dry area.
Plants that are particularly good for drying and giving as a forage mix include nettles, all the tree leaves, rose leaves and petals and buddleia.
If you would like a leaflet with photos of the plants mentioned please do get in contact.
