Safe plants, herbs, and leaves for consumption

[aya0aya]

Maybe it was written somewhere, but I missed it. I'm wondering if any of those are safe:
-chestnut leaves and branches, the green thing that seeds are in
-acorn and beech nuts - I know squirrels here like those and live from them during the winter. I know wood is bad, what about seeds?
-red plum leaves - the kind of plum that have red leaves all the time
-hawthorn seeds (maybe it is fruit, that red thing)
-linden tree seeds (that things that look like a small yellow leaves)
-mountain ash or rowan berry fruits (I tried those and they're very bitter)

Anybody? Thanks.

[fred]

You are adventurous aya

Hawthorn berries and linded fruits/seeds (?) are safe.

Acorn and beech nuts were considered unsafe but I know David has fed them successfully and I am sure he will have more to say about this. Oak branches with leaves are safe and have been used by members on deguforum.de and by abirose and myself here. For oak and beech see also here deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=food&thread=8950&page=1

Chestnut and mountain ash / rowan berry are not considered safe.

I don't know the red plum you mentioned.

[davx]

Aya... yes we recently discussed it... at least partly.

Chestnut I tried but my degus ignored the seeds as well as the leaves.

Acorn works fine, I fed it occasionally and the same by beech nuts.

Plum leaves are okay, also linden fruits. Hawthorn berries (yes it is a fruit) is suitable too. It contains little sugar and the degus like it.

Apropos mountain ash / rowan berry I can't say anything.

[aya0aya]

Thanks a lot! They absolutely love beech nuts (fights, fights) and red plum leaves too. What do you to with plants with thorns? I cut them away, so they can't hurt their selves. And as I saw blackberry plant is also fine, but what about all those small thorny things that are all over it? If they can hurt human, they probably can hurt goos too.

[davx]

LOL fighting for food, that's degu. But your degus fight for plum leaves too? *g*

What do you to with plants with thorns?

I let the degus decide how to deal with the thorns. For my degus that works.
They have to be careful and in fact they are.

[ava]

I was just wondering about the little yellow flowers you get on a plant that looks like nettles but actually isn't (I looked at some pictures of their flowers and they're completely different)? Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

[fred]

Oct 10, 2011 17:26:09 GMT ava said:

I was just wondering about the little yellow flowers you get on a plant that looks like nettles but actually isn't (I looked at some pictures of their flowers and they're completely different)? Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Can you take a picure? I think there are some candidates that may fit your description but are not suitable.

[ava]

Here it is -


(The leaves)


I'd also like to know whether this is safe -


And this -

Thank you

[moletteuk]

I think the first one is a type of sowthistle (sonchus), but I'm not certain, they go white, dusty mouldy when they die off, and pull up really easily.
Second one looks like buddleia or lilac, I'm never sure which.
Third one is groundsel (senecia vulgaris).
Hopefully somebody else can tell you if they are any good for goos

I brought a piece of elder and oak back from the woods today. I dried the leaves, they ate a little bit of the elder leaves, but weren't that keen, but they seemed quite keen on dried oak leaves, keen enough to steal bits from each other anway lol!

[fred]

There has been a lot of discussion about Senecio vulgaris and other members of the genus on the German sites. Maybe davx has to say more about it but unless he says otherwise, I would stay clear. I didn't find information about buddeleja and sow thistles.

Don't be disappointed, come spring we will have a long list of suitable plants!!

[moletteuk]

has anyone tried nettles? does the sting disappear when you dry them?

[fred]

Oct 14, 2011 10:55:23 GMT moletteuk said:

has anyone tried nettles? does the sting disappear when you dry them?

Yes it disappears completely. I don't think they are the most popular leaves but since there is a never-ending supply, they seem a good choice to stretch the mixes a bit.

[ava]

Oh well - there are some dandelions in the garden so at least I have them. Should I avoid leaves with black spots on? I assume it means they're diseased and thus not safe?

[moletteuk]

I've been out foraging again today Has anyone else tried cow parsley yet? There are loads of young leaves sprouting in the verges atm. I see it's on the big safe list. I also found a plant I didn't know, I looked it up and it's crosswort (cruciata laevipes), it's not on the big list, are they any other sources for safety? I did a general internet search and it's edible for humans, so I might try them with a tiny bit.

I also saw on the big list (http://degu.re4.ch/ratgeber/ernaehrung_pflanzenliste.html) that it says that elder (sambucus) is mildly poisonous. I thought Fred said it was OK, do you have another reference Fred?

[fred]

Oct 15, 2011 18:30:19 GMT moletteuk said:

I also saw on the big list (http://degu.re4.ch/ratgeber/ernaehrung_pflanzenliste.html) that it says that elder (sambucus) is mildly poisonous. I thought Fred said it was OK, do you have another reference Fred?

Elder is considered poisonous. In a post on on 18 September I typed elder instead of alder but edited the post after you indicated this.

There is no information about Cruciata laevipes on the German degu information sites. A general search of German sites also revealed that it is edible for humans and has not been found poisonous for any other mammals. Personally I would also give my degus a bit to try.

[moletteuk]

I just read about elder (sambucus) on the deguforum.de , there is some controversy, it's probably not worth the risk. Anyway, I already tried a small amount after reading on another thread it's OK - someone else was making a ladder or bridge with it.
I dried it on top of the radiator and they a bit of a couple of small leaves but left if after that, so they decided that for themselves. They refused a small twig fresh, but I dried out a piece for a bit longer on the radiator, and offered a couple of inches, and Florence happily stripped and ate some bark - with no apparent ill effects. Just thought I'd report this to contribute some info to a seemingly controversial topic. I won't be feeding them any more just to be on the safe side.

[fred]

ava If you don't know what the black spots are, you should avoid these leaves. If you don't mind getting your hands dirty , you can dig out some dandelion roots – many degus like them very much.


moletteuk There was a momentary confusion on the other thread, the ladder was made from alder too, so no problem there. I have read up on the discussions of elder on deguforum.de and the degupedia.de forum. Elder is one of an increasing number of plants which is making its way slowly from poisonous to problematic to suitable in small amounts and possibly beyond. I expect that most of them will be in the “Problematic Woods” category (“The following woods are supposed as problematic and probably need a careful usage. Thus they are intended for experienced degu keepers.”) on the octodons.ch woods list.

[moletteuk]

Thanks Fred, yes, I must have got a bit confused over the other thread.

I offered a tiny piece of the crosswort (cruciata), they liked it, so I further dried the other few bits I picked, but I burned them, so that's the end of that until I pick some more.

I also tried a tiny piece of cow parsley leaves today, 2 out of 3 degus ate it, so I don't know if it will be a lasting hit.

[davx]

I just read about elder (sambucus) on the deguforum.de , there is some controversy, it's probably not worth the risk.

I tried it, but it seems that the degus dont like it.
Btw. some days a ago I added problematic species and also elder to the wood list:
www.octodons.ch/index.php/Woods

I looked it up and it's crosswort (cruciata laevipes), it's not on the big list, are they any other sources for safety?

Crosswort is closely related to Galium species and Galium species are non toxic, but degus most don't like them.

[pappy1264]

Can degus have rosemary?