Variation?

Siikibam

Siikibam

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Is this a variety of the stinging nettles, and is it edible for the piggies? We have a hedge of it at the end of the road. Hmm...
 
Mine sometime get nettle in our self-gathered hay, they don't have a problem with it, though it's dry then. And I've read good things about nettle for poogies (and humans !) on french websites.
On the second picture I mostly discern bramble and I would be afraid the thorns are too big for poogies so I would leave them for the thicker tongues of hooved grazers.
 
I have bramble in my garden, after the blackberries have blackberried (!) I'll take the leaves off and dry them for forage in the winter.
 
So it’s edible for them then? Don’t know if it’s blackberries...
 
It should make blackberries, but maybe not the very big ones. Brambles are a very intricated and interesting group !
 
It's a bramble bush (blackberry), my boys love the leaves. I dried some in the greenhouse on newspaper when we had all the hot weather, they are now in a biscuit tin, I'm hoping they will keep for winter. The other plant in the first picture is a gone to seed nettle. I've also dried some nettles for the winter. The last edition of Guinea Pig magazine had a very interesting article on drying forage. I also have a book from the Rabbit Welfare Trust. Not having any income for several months was scary but it woke me up to how much free food for the piggies is available. Mine love plantain too although I think it has a lot of calcium in it so they only get it as a treat.
 
Plantain is a treat here too. To be fair, we started eating plantain ourselves when we saw how enthusiastic the little buddies were.

And freshly cut grasses makes them swim in bliss : raygrass, bromus, dactylis, holcus and festuca are the ones they usually get.

Also we've recently discovered they have a soft spot for wild geraniums.
 
I’ll use the garden gloves. This couldn’t be more perfectly located.
 
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