Lavender is a wonderful herb to have on hand in your rabbitry or on your hobby farm because it does so much. Lavender is an herb that everyone has at least heard of even if you haven’t tried to use it.
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I started using herbs with my rabbits when I was a young teen because there was not a lot of options out there for treating issues with rabbits. Also, the trouble with rabbits is they go down hard and fast.
Whether you raise rabbits or something else you need to be efficient and confidant enough to treat the common issues you see long before taking them to a vet is optional. You will be able to likely help them before they get to far along.
Personal Experience With Lavender In The Rabbitry
While I never want my animals to get sick it is reashuring to have first hand experiances that back up what you already know.
On a cool morning, I came out to find one of my Intermediate does with a massive case of diarrhea. Fluctuation in weather and temperatures is never kind to rabbits. I am always watching for issues to come up during seasonal changes.
I new this doe needed treatment ASAP. I truly thought this doe was a goner. So I went to my garden and clipped about 10 inches worth of the plant and fed that to her. Thankfully she was willing to eat it.
I did the same thing that evening. Then came out the next mourning and she was looking much better but not fully there just yet.
I did the same thing on day two and the morning of day three she was back to her old self.
I grow the herbs that come back year after year in my flower beds so I can dry them for winter. That way I have them as often as possible without having to buy dried herbs.
Use Lavender Right Before Travel
Whether you are going to a show or on a long trip lavender will help your rabbit stay calm. But the other thing that it will help with is minimizing the side effects of travel. Things like going off feed and keep them from picking up any illnesses along the way.
When They Appear Sick
If I can see diarrhea or they look like they don’t feel good then I will give them about 4-5 inches of the fresh plant once every 12 hours until I see a change.
Rosemerry and Comfrey are the other two I will use if I don’t think the situation is sever enough to warent lavender.
For example, If I notice that one of my rabbits has not eaten the amount they should I check them over to make sure there is nothing else visibly wrong. Then I give a sprig of rosemary if it is available. Or a comfrey and rosemary mix of equal parts dried.
Lavender’s Medicinal Overview
- Antidepressant
- Antibacterial
- Astringent
- Antispasmodic
- Anti-inflammatory
- Tonic
There is not much Lavender won’t do. It is a great disinfectant of wounds, bites, rashes, skin infections, and small cuts. Its anti-inflammatory properties will make the injuries less painful. So if you need to keep working on an injury that will take some time to heal then adding lavender to the feed will definitely help with keeping the animal calm and allowing you to work.
Lavender For Training
Using lavender in the rabbitry for calming animals that are going through emotional trauma as well as behavioral training is a great help. If I have a rabbit that is not as friendly as I would like lavender will help them clampdown while I am working with them to be more open to me touching them.
If you don’t have fresh lavender then give the herb dried. I give about 2 tablespoons of herb to a 13pound rabbit.
Risk warnings
Avoid using undiluted oils on animals with kidney problems.
Where You Can Get Lavender
This is the company I love to buy from on Amazon and have great results with their herbs. This is a full pound back which I realize is a lot if you have a small rabbitry. It does stay good long time if you keep it out of the sunlight.
Below is the herb brand that I have used for years but I realize buying a pound might sound like a lot for some people with just a few rabbits. So with that said I also linked a smaller bag of lavender that should work well.
Starwest Botanicals Organic Dried Lavender Flowers Extra Grade, 1 Pound
Anthony’s Organic French Lavender Petals, 5 oz, Extra Grade, Dried, Gluten Free & Non GMO
If you like to garden then definitely grow a plant or two. Fresh lavender will have the best quality if you can grow it but if not then dried is totally fine.
Lavender is a gamechanger and will make a huge difference in your rabbitry. If you want to learn more about other herbs I use you can read more in this post about using herbs to treat common health issues in rabbits.
