Ragwort, which is poisonous to horses, cattle and humans, is found in many hay mixtures that are fed to rabbits. Since the dried herb can hardly be identified in the hay, many rabbit owners worry whether their pets could also be harmed by ragweed.

Rabbits and hares like to eat ragwort like many other meadow herbs

Rabbits like to eat the plant

Numerous rabbit owners report that their animals really enjoy eating ragwort and even prefer the plant to other grasses. You don't have to worry about your rabbits, because the herb is absolutely tolerable for the animals in a mixture. The livers of the animals showed no changes even when they were only fed ragweed on one side. Also other rodents like:

  • hamster
  • gerbils
  • Guinea pig

tolerate the ragwort without any problems.

Why are rodents resistant?

The effects of ragwort poison have not yet been fully researched. 40 to 80 grams of the plant can already lead to death in horses. If cattle and horses eat ragwort again and again over a longer period of time, the toxins accumulate in the liver and lead to gradual poisoning.

It is possible that the poison of the ragweed is inactivated in the gastrointestinal tract of rodents and thus does not get into the organism. Studies show that animals that ate the herb for several months were perfectly healthy. However, if the poison was injected into the animals, they died within a few days.

Toxins in the liver are broken down

Although small amounts of the toxins are also deposited in the liver of rabbits, the animals are extremely insensitive. Since the liver is an organ that is extremely capable of regeneration, the pyrrolizidine alkaloids, like many other substances, are slowly broken down again.

Rabbits keep ragwort stocks down

Ragwort is also spreading so massively because the number of wild rabbits has fallen noticeably in recent years. The wild rabbit seems to be almost the only natural enemy of the plant in our latitudes.

tips

As a specialized herbivore, rabbits benefit from a diet that is as varied as possible. The animals are allowed to eat the ragwort themselves in small quantities and are not harmed by it.

Category:

Herbs