Mary Allen
Rabbits are generally hardy, but even they can occasionally be indisposed. With medicinal plants as a dietary supplement, their constitution can be strengthened. It pays to know a few important herbs and have them on hand.
As long as the rabbit is still eating parsley, there is hope.” You hear that statement a lot, but it’s not that simple. There are hardly any panaceas, but with a good handful of plants that you know and know how to use, some rabbits can be helped.
Plants contain a whole range of active ingredients and thus affect several organ systems at the same time, which distinguishes them from chemical medicines. Administering the herbs is easy because the rabbits eat them voluntarily and willingly. They have a good sense of which plants are good for them at the moment. Fresh plants are always the first choice. Especially in winter, however, you will often have to switch to dried or tinctures that are administered via the potion or directly into the mouth with a syringe.
There are breeders who only rely on the robust constitution of their breeding lines and refuse to treat sick rabbits. They overlook the fact that rabbits are actually herbal experts who get exactly what they need at the moment from their food: bark, buds, herbs with certain ingredients that are important for the current state of health. Domestic rabbits are denied this choice because they cannot roam freely. Although pellets – in combination with hay – are considered a complete food, they largely lack the secondary plant substances that wild rabbits consume every day. Herbal gifts are not effeminate, but provide the animals with important active ingredients.
Digestion: Mugwort Panacea
The most common health problems in rabbits relate to digestion. The reasons can be feeding errors, poor hygiene, or stress. Digestive disorders are easy to correct with medicinal plants. Concentrated feed is reduced, good hay is given and mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), is probably the most important medicinal plant for rabbits. Mugwort is an ancient herb that grows in gravel pits, along roadsides, and on pebbly banks. Other names are Mugwurz or Weiberkraut, Mug means to strengthen and warm, Weiberkraut indicates the effect on the female sex organs.
Mugwort comes very close to being a panacea for rabbits. It is an aromatic bitter plant that, in addition to essential oils and bitter substances, contains sesquiterpene lactones, which are said to have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and tumor-inhibiting effects. Mugwort reliably helps with all gastrointestinal complaints, colic, diarrhea, constipation, flatulence, indigestion, loss of appetite. It promotes the production of digestive juices, acts as a tonic, giving the rabbit energy again. Mugwort strengthens the kidneys and bladder, improves fertility, ensures an easy birth and complete expulsion of the afterbirth. Mugwort belongs in every rabbit herb garden.
Marigold (Calendula officinalis), St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), and shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) are the remedies of choice for injuries. Shepherd’s purse seals the vessels, it reliably helps with internal or external bleeding. It is appropriate as first aid after a difficult birth, after a fall, if you have bloody urine or bloody diarrhea. If the condition is unclear, a veterinarian must of course be consulted.
Hawthorn for the Heart
St. John’s wort helps with all nerve injuries, spinal cord contusions, after an accident, and as an additional treatment for torticollis. Calendula disinfects relieve pain and accelerate the healing of lacerations, bites, bruises. The injury is washed out with a diluted tincture of calendula, in addition, calendula is fed or a few drops of tincture are added to the drinking water. Calendula also relieves hardening in the digestive tract, it helps bad eaters and animals that tend to get hairballs.
Coneflower (Echinacea spec.) helps to stimulate the immune system in stressful situations and as a preventive measure at exhibitions. It inhibits viruses and at the same time boosts the body’s own defenses: ten drops of the tincture daily for medium-sized and large rabbits, half for small and dwarf breeds. Plants also strengthen the respiratory tract, the best known is probably thyme (Thymus vulgaris), which is sprinkled over the feed or given as tea. Long ears like to gnaw on twigs of spruce and fir and strengthen the respiratory tract. The essential oils of these plants are excreted through the lungs and thus unfold their effect in the right place.
Older rabbits can suffer from cardiac insufficiency, which can become particularly dangerous when they are stressed or hot. Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna and Crataegus laevigata) is suitable for prevention and treatment. Leaves and berries are fed or hawthorn tincture is added to the drink, the dosage is the same as for coneflowers. Hawthorn is a well-tolerated long-term remedy, it improves coronary blood flow, strengthens the heart muscle, stabilizes the heart rhythm, is antispasmodic and calming. Hawthorn is of course also useful for younger animals when hot days are announced in summer.
Nettle with Many Minerals
The detoxification organs liver and kidneys can also be strengthened with suitable plants. Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is a specific liver protectant and liver tonic. It is indicated in all liver problems, as well as in severe digestive disorders. Kidney remedies are birch (Betula pendula) and goldenrod, with the native goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea) and the invasive goldenrod (S. Canadensis, S. gigantea) also being used. You can safely collect the invasive species in larger quantities, you are doing something good for the native flora.
The stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is unsurpassed as a natural source of minerals. It is fed withered or dried. Lactating female rabbits and growing young animals should receive them regularly, as should rabbits during the molting period.