Rabbits eating common milkweed?

Discuss your green thumb (or lack thereof ;-) when it comes to propagation of milkweed and other garden plants.

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Rabbits eating common milkweed?

Postby GBMonarch » Wed May 23, 2007 8:05 am

For some reason something is eating my milkweed this spring. It must be rabbits, since they munch down the plant so much. I've never had this problem before...must be a new breed of rabbit! I thought milkweed tasted bad to animals! Anyway, I have a lot of plants so I should be able to keep my caterpillars fed. It's just strange...is anyone else experiencing this?
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Postby Teresa » Tue May 29, 2007 7:15 pm

i've never had anything eat mine except cats :) If a rabbit ate i'm sure it's very sick.
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Postby John Beaulieu » Wed May 30, 2007 9:05 am

Was this a one-time happening? I would think that they would not continue eating milkweed.

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Milkweed eating rabbit still at large

Postby GBMonarch » Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:21 pm

I'm still finding some of the smaller milkweed plants half eaten... I must have a mutant bunny! Once the plants get bigger it seems to leave them alone. Strange.
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Postby Farfalla » Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:06 am

Hi GB :D

I caught my culprit red-handed.. or I should say green- mouthed. It is Deer. Caught him with it hanging right out of his lips.First the little plants went missing and I too thought it was a rabbit or a woodchuck. I thought they would get sick and stay away. ...Then the larger plants were ravaged. I did not think Deer ate Milkweed or even that they could but apparently they do. If you have deer in the area I would consider them my number one suspect!( iIf not keep a watch out and let us know who/what it is.)
I never had this problem in the past! Now all my natives are fenced in and my ornamentals are up for grabs. #-o

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Rabbits eating milkweed

Postby GBMonarch » Sun Jun 17, 2007 1:15 pm

We don't have any deer that I know of, since we're near the city, but who knows!

We do have a lot of bunnies and the munching is still happening. We also have racoons and possums, but I still don't know who the muncher is.

I have enough plants that it's not affecting my food supply. The mystery continues....
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