# Bunny Garden Question



## ArdenBunny (Apr 9, 2012)

I understand that if you are doing your own garden for your rabbits you obviously don't want to use weed killers, but is something like Miracle Gro ok to use on plants/vegetables/fruits you intend to give your rabbit?

Anybody have a rabbit garden with pictures they wouldn't mind showing? What are you growing for your rabbits?:mrsthumper:


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## ZRabbits (Apr 9, 2012)

We are redoing our garden and bunny run from last year. If you like, you can see my blog for pics. Garden/Bunny run is a work in progress.

I would get a real, and I repeat, REAL organic fertilizer. We just picked up some Protogrow for our garden this year. Looking forward to seeing how it works. We try to stick to straight pure organics. Plus we do not purchase any genetically altered seeds as well. Bad stuff.

We plan to plant carrots, tomatoes, parsley, beans, wheat grass, kale, arugula, cilantro, pole beans, cucumbers. 

Hope this helps.

K


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## mdith4him (Apr 9, 2012)

We're growing basil and parsley for our bunnies. Nibbles LOVES the basil!


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## LakeCondo (Apr 9, 2012)

I'd stick to natural fertilizers like kelp meal.

And to clarify a previous post, only ripe tomatoes are ok for rabbits; the foliage etc is toxic. And beans aren't for rabbits, either, per 2 rabbit books & the list I got from the rescue group where I got Honey. And carrot tops have too much calcium for a rabbit who's full-grown & not pregnant or lactating, while the carrot itself's sugar content means it should be an occasional treat only.


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## ZRabbits (Apr 9, 2012)

*LakeCondo wrote: *


> I'd stick to natural fertilizers like kelp meal.
> 
> And to clarify a previous post, only ripe tomatoes are ok for rabbits; the foliage etc is toxic. And beans aren't for rabbits, either, per 2 rabbit books & the list I got from the rescue group where I got Honey. And carrot tops have too much calcium for a rabbit who's full-grown & not pregnant or lactating, while the carrot itself's sugar content means it should be an occasional treat only.



Yes tomatoes, the fruit is good for bunnies. But I should have clarified the tomatoes are for my husband.

And beans (lima beans also know as pole beans) are good for bunnies. 

It depends on where you look, books, on-line, from rescue groups which they feel is good for your bunnies. 

And if you stick with growing baby carrots, that will be a perfect size for any bunny.



K


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## LakeCondo (Apr 9, 2012)

I think clarifying a vague reply that could have been misunderstood & cost someone's rabbit his or her life is more important than someone's being miffed. Others might not agree. Because my undergraduate degree was in math & I've helped edit a number of technical books & journal articles during my career, I may think accuracy & precision more important than does the average person.


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## Michelle Savage (Apr 9, 2012)

What a great question! I was just thinking about a rabbit garden today. I was watching a gardening show and thought it would be a wonderful idea to grow items that your bunny and you could both safely eat. I am going to do much research before starting a garden... to make sure all the things grown in it will be safe! I think it would great if we bunny lovers could get ahold of someone that has raised rabbits from a young age and has kept them alive a long time (10 plus years)... getting advice from them on ways to ensure a long rabbit life. I have heard this and that (contradictions...opposing advice), but what is safe may not be completely known, especially to many rabbit owners that don't do their research (feeding their bunnies junk and keeping them in unsafe enviroments)...ugh, be safe.


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## MagPie (Apr 10, 2012)

I actually planted some cilantro seeds a couple of weeks back that are sprouting now. I'm excited about them. Anyway it's not much of a garden but rather a planter box, since I live in an apartment. I've got some panseys growing, which I think are ok for rabbits.

Anyway I am just growing the seeds in potting soil that has ferts in it already, tho the soil is a few years old. They are growing well so I wasn't going to add liquid ferts.
I might pull up some of the flowers out of the box I have the cilantro in and try another veggie or herb. But I dunno what yet. Any suggestions? It's a sunny spot.


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## ArdenBunny (Apr 10, 2012)

Thanks, everybody! We didn't even get a winter this year (Winter? What's that? :shock, and most of the year it's fairly warm here. I'll look into the Protogrow and the kelp meal. I am kind of hoping we can do next year like we did this year. My Dad built a small incubator type box to keep the flowers and other plants in until the temerature changed for good. Then he took them out and planted them. The plants only stayed in there for about two to three weeks. It's so warm that he started working on the garden in early February! :laugh:



One of these days I am going to eventually get my own rabbit and post about it! :headflick:


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## Nela (Apr 10, 2012)

Wait whaaaaat? Buy fertilizer? Nah uh, you have the best right there, bunny poop! :biggrin2:Uh huh that's right, that's an awesome fertilizer right there and it's free. 

As for the garden, I've planted a TON of herbs. My garden will also have carrots, various types of lettuce, various types of berries, roses, etc. Oh, I am also making a grass box and planting dandelions tooThere are many things that have too much sugar or calcium in them but if they don't eat everything at once it's fine. You have to remind yourselves of the things they eat in nature and modify it a bit to have some control but these things are way way better than commercial treats. Just keep an eye on their intake and poop/urine to see if you pick up on any signs of excess calcium or sugar.


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## ZRabbits (Apr 10, 2012)

*LakeCondo wrote: *


> I think clarifying a vague reply that could have been misunderstood & cost someone's rabbit his or her life is more important than someone's being miffed. Others might not agree. Because my undergraduate degree was in math & I've helped edit a number of technical books & journal articles during my career, I may think accuracy & precision more important than does the average person.


Wow, maybe people here are intelligent enough to ask for themselves for a further reply. I think people here are intelligent enough NOT to do something until they actually know all the facts. Maybe you should have asked first yourself before your reply before you looked down on an average person. As in "ask before inserting foot in mouth". 

To all those who read my posts, you are more than welcome to ask as many questions about what I post as you like. As what I do works for me, it might not work for your bunny. 

Thanks everyone, and have a nice day! 

K


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## Michelle Savage (Apr 10, 2012)

ArdenBunny, I hope you can get a rabbit too one day, what kind and/or color do you think you would like? :bunny18:bunny5




Nela, that is what I was thinking later on in the day, rabbit droppings, ha, don't they use that for fertilizer... well that would probably be the cheapest and safest was to go about it! :agreeOh, and it that rabbit you have a holland lop, so pretty? I think mine is part or all holland lop (I may find out today through the breeder or vet)! Hereare two pictures:






ZRabbits and LakeCondo, I like you both, if that helps. :embarrassed:


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## wendymac (Apr 10, 2012)

Why are you guys buying fertilizer when you have rabbits? It's the BEST organic fertilizer you can get, and it can be used straight from the bun (unlike horse, cow, etc, where you have to let it sit forever before using it or it'll burn your plants).

Our horse manure goes directly into the spreader, and out to the fields. The rabbit manure I'm keeping separated, for people that want it for gardens and flowers. Hubby's looking into where to purchase burlap bags, and then we can sell it.


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## ZRabbits (Apr 10, 2012)

*wendymac wrote: *


> Why are you guys buying fertilizer when you have rabbits? It's the BEST organic fertilizer you can get, and it can be used straight from the bun (unlike horse, cow, etc, where you have to let it sit forever before using it or it'll burn your plants).
> 
> Our horse manure goes directly into the spreader, and out to the fields. The rabbit manure I'm keeping separated, for people that want it for gardens and flowers. Hubby's looking into where to purchase burlap bags, and then we can sell it.


Bunny poop is really good for the garden, but watch out if your bunny is taking antibiotics. That should be thrown away. Have been with Neville's. Compost is doing well and should be ready soon as well. 

Plus with the Protogrow, can't wait to see how our plants turn out. Hoping for a huge harvest this year. 

K


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## mrbunny (Apr 10, 2012)

The bunny poop factory here churns out more poop than I actually need for our garden. They poop, I place it in a plastic bin and dump it onto the garden. Any excess goes into the composter. 

It's actually our first time with a real garden. We're probably a little ambitious with two bunny gardens. One is fenced off specifically for our buns and the other for wild buns in our neighbourhood. We're also attempting to root in a pussy willow tree. 

For the physical planting, we haven't done much beyond planting the seeds into the soil and dumping plenty of poop on top. We're simple (and perhaps lazy) folk, so we'll see how it turns out. If we're lucky, we'll receive a few types of lettuce, basil, mint, cilantro, and some daisies. 

I also don't mind weeds, but I don't seem to have too many. If you don't like them, you can try digging them out. That's what I do, and if it's a weed that the bunnies like, it's a bonus.

Also, thank you for the good point about antibiotics (and bunny poop fertilizer), Karen. I'll keep that in mind if anyone gets sick. 

Everybody be blooming =)


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## MagPie (Apr 11, 2012)

Hmmm so with the bunny poop (haha) do you bury it a little in the soil, or something different? I hadn't thought of using the bunny poop cause I haven't done much with my planter boxes. Only gardening I've been doing lately is in my fish tank, which rabbit poop in the tank doesn't sound like a good idea.


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## ArdenBunny (Apr 12, 2012)

The rabbit poop idea is actually great! I didn't think about that. :shock: To have rabbit poop on hand you have to get a rabbit first though. :coolness:



I really, really, really want a flemish giant. You just gotta love the big bunnies! I think I was really struck by them because I had no idea rabbits could get so big. I was actually looking up agility stuff for my dogs (we don't do agility, but we're dabbling in it for fun at home) when I came across a picture of a flemish giant next to a shetland sheepdog. I'm not going to lie - I thought somebody had photoshopped it! :laugh: 



I clicker train my dogs, so I'm also looking into clicker training for rabbits as well!


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## Nela (Apr 12, 2012)

*Michelle Savage wrote: *


> Nela, that is what I was thinking later on in the day, rabbit droppings, ha, don't they use that for fertilizer... well that would probably be the cheapest and safest was to go about it! :agreeOh, and it that rabbit you have a holland lop, so pretty? I think mine is part or all holland lop (I may find out today through the breeder or vet)! Hereare two pictures:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Hi Michelle!

Lol I was wondering how come the bunny people were looking for fertilizers Of course, if someone doesn't have a bunny, that would explain... Lol. I dumped some in my garden bed and the herbs seem to be loving it. 

My lil guy is actually a fuzzy lop. You can see it better in person, but not so much in pictures. He's fuzzy but not as fuzzy as you would expect for a fuzzy lop, he just looks like a slightlycottony holland lop really. Fuzzy lops generally look a bit more like this: 

http://www.rescueeverydog.org/RedAlerts/RedAlertImages/Emery%20am%20fuzzy%20lop%209%20wks.JPG

Now that's clearly fuzzy Crumble's brother looked just like this though:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T-rBHCAzGFo/TzorhHe_24I/AAAAAAAAAVk/ijn7-ndVfwU/s320/100_2631.JPG

So he was much fuzzier. Crumble is perfect the way he is in my opinion. Just fuzzy enough to have a really soft coat, but not so fuzzy that I can't tell where his head starts :biggrin2:*Giggles*

Your girl is really sweet-looking. I wish I could help with the breed but I find lop babies so difficult to tell apart. Lol. Either way, she's just adorable :biggrin2:


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## mrbunny (Apr 12, 2012)

*MagPie wrote: *


> Hmmm so with the bunny poop (haha) do you bury it a little in the soil, or something different? I hadn't thought of using the bunny poop cause I haven't done much with my planter boxes. Only gardening I've been doing lately is in my fish tank, which rabbit poop in the tank doesn't sound like a good idea.


I simply dump the poop on top of the soil. I'm sure it's fine either way. So, if you want to hide under the soil for your fish tank, it should be alright. =)


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## Sunshine's Fine (May 1, 2020)

I've been wanting to grow some veggies for my bunnies for a long time, although I live in a one bedroom apt in a high rise building. I also thought poop would make perfect fertilizer. My question is this: would it be ok to use the poop along with Yesterdays News litter? When I clean out my litter boxes, it's pretty impossible to separate only the poop. Since it's just newspaper and the only other things that would be in it would be pee and hay, I think it would be ok. Am I right in thinking this?


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## Mac189 (May 1, 2020)

Mixing Coffee grounds and bunny poop creates awesome fertilizer! I too am curious if anyone knows if the urine, hay and paper litter scraps are ok


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## Preitler (May 1, 2020)

Well, two thoughts about that:
First, the printing ink. Although really toxic ingredients got faded out '93-'96 (in Europe, read up about your legislation on that) to print newspapers, it's still not healthy stuff, I think about 2000mg/kg ink/body weight start to show health symptoms. You can print a LOT of newspaper with that, and almost everything stays in the soil anyway, so it will definitly not cause any acute problem, on the other hand, it's imho not really food rated.
That would be a great question to mail to the producer of the litter, to newspapers, and producers of the ink - would be interesting if the answers differ.

Second, doesn't composting cellulose, which would happen, use up quite a lot of nitrogen, canceling out some of the fertilizing effect of the poop? I'm not sure if this is relevant, since the poop works pretty much instantly, celllulose takes quite some time to compost. It might even be beneficial by absorbing excess nitrogen that way - there are better gardeners out there than Brown-Thumb-Preitler 

I use wood stove pellets with a layer of long strand hay on top, I can separate poop and hay pretty easily.


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## Janie Hall (May 1, 2020)

I'm no expert but I think it would be fine. I use the horse pellets for my liter box and I dump entire thing in my garden as the pellets break down with rain and I don't have any problems. Hope this helps


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## Sunshine's Fine (May 1, 2020)

Preitler said:


> Well, two thoughts about that:
> First, the printing ink. Although really toxic ingredients got faded out '93-'96 (in Europe, read up about your legislation on that) to print newspapers, it's still not healthy stuff, I think about 2000mg/kg ink/body weight start to show health symptoms. You can print a LOT of newspaper with that, and almost everything stays in the soil anyway, so it will definitly not cause any acute problem, on the other hand, it's imho not really food rated.
> That would be a great question to mail to the producer of the litter, to newspapers, and producers of the ink - would be interesting if the answers differ.
> 
> ...




I'm not much of a gardener, so I will admit my ignorance there, but I wouldn't be using a litter I thought was not safe for my rabbits. The whole purpose of buying this brand is for #1) the safety & comfort of my buns, #2) veterinarian recommended, and #3) it's safe for the environment. Below, I've copied what the Purina website says. Granted, they are the producer, but if someone can tell me any of what they're saying isn't true, I will definitely write/call them, and even go to the facility when this whole Covid-19 thing is over. Thanks for your comments. 

"Benefits

Veterinarian recommended
Designed for low-tracking with no small particles
Creates a virtually dust-free environment
Absorbs 3x the moisture by volume than traditional clay-based litter, which may reduce the total amount of litter an average cat requires on an annual basis and extend the life of one bag of product
Contains no harmful chemicals making it a safe, non-toxic product that won't harm cats if they happen to ingest the product.
A significant portion of the content of our paper cat litter comes from post-consumer waste derived from newspapers. When newspapers aren't recycled, they are either dumped into landfills or incinerated. We encourage everyone to recycle their discarded newspapers, and buy products from companies that use recycled materials.

Concerned about the inks? Don't be. Today, most publishers print using harmless organic inks and/or soy-based inks. The process used to make Yesterday's News neutralizes these inks so there will be no residue left on your cat's paws or fur."

The following is from the indianahrs.org site:

*"Use a bunny safe litter.* No clay cat litter! Rabbits are nibblers and clay litter can cause blockages in bunny’s tummy if she eats it. Also avoid corn, wheat, alfalfa and oat based litters as bunny too commonly ingests them. A cat litterbox works great. Choose a size big enough for your bunny and a pile of hay; many like to lounge in the cozy box, too, so a little extra room is preferred. The box won’t have to be cleaned quite as often if it is larger.

Safe bunny litters include Carefresh (without baking soda), Yesterday’s News (uinscented), WoodyPet or Feline or Equine Pine compressed wood pellets, aspen shavings (no pine or cedar shavings!), newspaper, and plain old hay. Newspaper and bulk hay are the most inexpensive choice, but they aren’t as absorbent as other litters so must be changed frequently. You can also use compressed wood stove pellets as litter, often sold during heating season at feed stores."

I would like to try wood stove pellets, but because I now live in the city, they are harder to find, they only stock them in the winter, and they come in such large, heavy bags I can't lift them and don't have room for them in my apartment.


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## Sunshine's Fine (May 1, 2020)

Janie Hall said:


> I'm no expert but I think it would be fine. I use the horse pellets for my liter box and I dump entire thing in my garden as the pellets break down with rain and I don't have any problems. Hope this helps


Thanks, it does!


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## osgoodmg (May 1, 2020)

The only thing with newspaper is the amount of carbon that is produced as it decomposes. There may be too much carbon for the amount of nitrogen the poop and pee produce. I'm just looking at how to make a good compost where a balance is required between nitrogen producing products and carbon producing products like newspaper. Maybe try to remove some of the newspaper.


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## Sam_ (May 2, 2020)

A rabbit's poop from their litter box makes great fertilizer!


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