Fresh Food Can they eat ____ leaves from my garden?

[ImJoo]

Hi, I've checked the thread on the list of poisonous plants for piggies but I didn't get my answer there. So I hope it's okay to post a new thread
Can anyone advise me on the following items, whether they are safe to feed my piggies (and rabbits, if anyone knows)?
- Papaya leaves
- Sugarcane leaves
- Mango leaves
- Elephant ear plant leaves (also know as Colocasia)
- Banana tree leaves

 

[bpatters]

I don't know if anyone knows if those are poisonous or not. Except for elephant ears, most of us don't live where those leaves grow. And elephant ears are definitely poisonous.

Guinea pigs eat grasses, not leaves. I'd leave all those alone and get them some good hay. They need hay 24x7 to keep their molars ground down and their digestive tracts moving. Otherwise, you'll be looking at expensive dental bills and pigs in a lot of pain.

 

[Paula]

I don't see anything that indicates this person means to be feeding leaves instead of grass or hay? And I certainly don't see the harm in asking these questions - I often wonder the same things with things I find in my yard. Leaves, if safe, serve as a great forage and can be offered to provide variety in a rabbit or guinea pig's diet. (My pigs and rabbits love their blackberry and grape leaves and other leaves I find with flowers that grow around here.)

Mango and papaya leaves can be fed, though I'd strongly advocate moderation as your pet gets used to a new food. I don't know about sugarcane or banana leaves but my sense would be probably not.

On a sidenote, a really cool site I've recently discovered is Feedipedia.

 

[ImJoo]

I don't know if anyone knows if those are poisonous or not. Except for elephant ears, most of us don't live where those leaves grow. And elephant ears are definitely poisonous.

Guinea pigs eat grasses, not leaves. I'd leave all those alone and get them some good hay. They need hay 24x7 to keep their molars ground down and their digestive tracts moving. Otherwise, you'll be looking at expensive dental bills and pigs in a lot of pain.

I can understand that most people on this forum don't live where these plants grow but in my case, they're everywhere. I come from an Asian background, my family grows their own herbs, fruit trees and anything edible. Good quality hay and such are easy obtained for Americans but I'm Australian and I prefer not to fork out a fortune ordering very high quality foods for my piggies (even though I do love them, it's just not economical) and I prefer to find a cheaper and more affordable way to feed them. My piggies do have unlimited hay and grass, but I still wanted to know whether these plants/leaves were an okay source of food.

Thanks for your input.

 

[ImJoo]

I don't see anything that indicates this person means to be feeding leaves instead of grass or hay? And I certainly don't see the harm in asking these questions - I often wonder the same things with things I find in my yard. Leaves, if safe, serve as a great forage and can be offered to provide variety in a rabbit or guinea pig's diet. (My pigs and rabbits love their blackberry and grape leaves and other leaves I find with flowers that grow around here.)

Mango and papaya leaves can be fed, though I'd strongly advocate moderation as your pet gets used to a new food. I don't know about sugarcane or banana leaves but my sense would be probably not.

On a sidenote, a really cool site I've recently discovered is Feedipedia.

Hi Paula, thanks for understanding! Maybe I should have indicated in my original post that I wasn't intending on ditching grass or hay ... but anyways, I'll have a look through Feedipedia and see if it helps. If not, my piggies will just have to stick to my home grown grass (not that they mind!)

 

[Paula]

Hi Paula, thanks for understanding! Maybe I should have indicated in my original post that I wasn't intending on ditching grass or hay ... but anyways, I'll have a look through Feedipedia and see if it helps. If not, my piggies will just have to stick to my home grown grass (not that they mind!)

Ha, no you shouldn't have to explain anything, and you also shouldn't be treated like a burden for asking a question. That's a recurring theme with some folks here, I had a similar issue a few weeks back when I had the audacity to ask if anyone recognized some of the weeds growing in my yard. There's no reason for some of the attitude that comes across when you're asking a question here, but at least it doesn't seem to be deterring you, although I did find it a little sad you felt the need to apologize in your initial message for even asking the question at all. Ha! Oh well, you're here to learn and there's no harm in asking questions, despite the snarkiness you might encounter from folks here and there who'd rather imply you're doing something wrong by asking than just say they don't know.

 

[madelineelaine]

While we're on the topic of leaves, does anyone know if horesradish leaves can be fed? @Paula, I have a bunch of those in my yard and I'm not sure if they can be fed. I'm thinking not but my dad keeps asking because there is so much.

 

[Paula]

While we're on the topic of leaves, does anyone know if horesradish leaves can be fed? @Paula , I have a bunch of those in my yard and I'm not sure if they can be fed. I'm thinking not but my dad keeps asking because there is so much.

It can. I'd go slow at first as I suspect they may be a bit bitter, but see if they like them and go from there. Here's the nutritional info on it.

 

[lunarminx]

**
[h=3]Description[/h]
While banana production is a fruit crop, it generates large amounts of forage material that can be used to feed livestock.

• Babana leaves, which grow continuously from the center of the stem, are broad blades, 1-4 m long x 0.7-1 m wide, with a pronounced supporting midrib. Banana leaves and petioles are sometimes called banana tops.
• Banana pseudostems, usually called banana stems, banana stalks or banana trunks, are cylindrical, made of overlapping leaf-sheaths and 20-50 cm in diameter. **

*Whole sugarcane may be used as green forage and can provide a valuable dry season fodder.*


I wouldn't give the whole plant to them though.

https://www.feedipedia.org/node/14462

https://www.feedipedia.org/node/686

 

[lunarminx]

Awesome site Paula, Thanks!