Do bunnies eat herbs?

[supernova]

I'm asking because now by my kitchen door I have a little herb garden that my sister helped me plant for my birthday.

I have basil, dill, thyme, sage, tarragon, lavendar and rosemary.

I also have a family of wild bunnies that like to hang out in my yard. Every day when I wake up, they are there. Every evening when I come home, there they are. They really dig the grass. I just want to know if I should put up a little fence around the herbs.

So what do bunnies eat? :-)

[Ready4Change]

1. Haven't seen them going after our thyme.

My wife has a bunch of other herbs in the side garden, and those don't seem to be getting eaten, either.

I did have one ailing hosta get devoured right down to the ground, though. And I think they dug up and gnawed a flower bulb.

But don't seem interested in the herbs at all.

My .02

[Mr. McD]

2. Bunnies eat everything in the garden

Our neighbors rabbits got into our yard a few years ago. It was a bunny smorgasbord. It included herbs.

[GOPisEvil]

3. Wild bunnies will eat just about anything that grows.

[supernova]

9. I was afraid of that.

I was hoping the plants would be too near the house and they would be too nervous to come so close. No such luck, though. They come right up to the patio even now.

[GOPisEvil]

10. I doubt they'd touch the rosemary though.

Most woodland creatures aren't too fond of it. It's a good natural deer barrier. :)

[supernova]

13. Good, I'm looking forward

to the plants getting bigger and providing some ornamentation around the door.

edit: Closest to the house, I've got lavender on the left and rosemary on the right.

[chaska]

4. thyme and rosemary with rabbit sounds good to me...

When's dinner?

[supernova]

7. Hey, these are pet wild bunnies

Strictly of the observing variety. :-)

[chaska]

12. Oh..., then you'll want to add some garlic....

yummmmm...

[supernova]

14. SNORT

:spank: Chaska!

[1monster]

5. I dunno, but mares eat oats

and does eat oats
and little lambs eat ivy
a kid'll eat ivy too...

[supernova]

6. I don't have mares or goats

:silly: :D

[TheCentepedeShoes]

15. Wouldn't ewe?

[truthseeker1]

8. They will eat them down to the roots (the ones they find tasty)

We have house bunnies and they like parsley, cilantro, dill, lavender. They hate basil and are not too fond of rosemary. Not sure about the others. I would say you probably need a little fence ;)

[supernova]

11. I have three of those

Oh well, it's off to Lowe's I guess

[El Fuego]

16. I've discovered caterpillars love Italian parsley.

They have totally devoured my parsley and turned it into a science project. And icky snails keep eating my basil. If bugs and snails know herbs are better than their normal fare, I'm sure bunnies know too.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

17. I think it partly depends on what else you have for them to eat

They don't mess with my herbs but they love the lawn. It's a bermuda hybrid and it's their favorite thing munch on. However, if I don't water the lawn and let it turn brown, they have been known to eat some of my day lilies. Who knows, maybe the herbs were next on their list. :shrug:

I also have a veggie garden and the only time I had a problem with rabbits in it was when I used alfalfa hay as a mulch.

[youthere]

18. Rabbits love basil. The rest they will probably leave alone. n/t

[seaglass]

19. They ate all my basil. Plus they will get bolder as they become

accustomed to you. We've had a family of rabbits around for years and they will barely move even when we are within a foot of them.

They do eat grass and/or clover and they will eat specific flowers in the garden - they ate the heads off the dahlias before they bloomed.