Apple Wood Palatability To Rabbits

General Fruit Growing
21

Greetings

I grow apples but I have pet rabbits! Had rabbits for over 30 years!.
since many of my pet rabbits like to chew, I collect apple branches for them from my trees after pruning or from trees at the nursery I work at.

I have found my rabbits like white flowering crabs but do not care for red or pink flowering crabapple wood as much. When given the choice, they eat the wood of Donald Wyman (white) but hardly nibble on Profusion (pink). Over the years, this has been the same results with all red/pink fleshed crabapple wood I try to give them.

I donā€™t grow any red fleshed eating apples but I have to assume something in the wood of red/pink crabapples or red fleshed eating apples must taste bad to them if they much prefer wood from white flowering crabapples or most eating apple selections.

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22

Thatā€™s a really good anecdote. It sounds like we have a viable theory regarding red flesh apples being less prone to rabbit damage!

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23

I wonder if easy protection would be to use red rootstocks and graft them 2 feet above the ground.

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Red rootstocks or other proven unpalatable rootstocks (the M.26 Iā€™m using isnā€™t red, but it does seem unattractive to rabbits). How high to graft would probably depend on location as snow depth would determine what rabbits can easily reach. In any case it seems that those with rabbit pressure and grafting skills could benefit from just planting out rootstocks and letting them grow a couple years before grafting so that they can graft high on sturdy trunks (which will then push fast growth and make up for lost time).

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Anyone still using M. prunifolia for a rootstock? I know it is a standard cold hardy rootstock. But it has a red leaf. Just wondering if anyone still uses it and if they are finding it to be less prone to rabbit girdling.

This rootstock was commonly used many years ago in Minnesota for its cold hardiness.

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I read Bud 118 is red leaved! I know some of you have apples on Bud 118. Any results on that rootstock being less prone to rabbit girdling in your orchard?

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Plenty of bunny damage on any B118 I leave unprotected.

I have noticed less damage to wild crabs here than any rootstocks Iā€™ve bought/planted.

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The only place Iā€™ve ever seen use/offer m. prunifolia is Walden Heights Nursery, and it seems he hasnā€™t had any for at least a few years.

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I have made a number of crosses between red fleshed varieties and russet ones. Pink Pearl x Golden Russet is the most common combination. Plus Herefordshire Russet x Red Devil, Almata x Golden Russet and all both ways for growing the seeds. There are others but these are the main ones. Ruby Sipper is one of my favorite crosses.

Ruby Sipper - formerly Red Fleshed 3
Ruby Sipper - formerly Red Fleshed 3960Ɨ720 59.9 KB

Ruby Sipper blossom April 10 2020
Ruby Sipper blossom April 10 20201920Ɨ2560 227 KB

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Thatā€™s a beautiful apple, Derek.

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31

I love the idea of Golden Russet x red flesh.

Is Ruby Sipper one of Golden Russet offspring? What kind of brix are we talking about?

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32

thanks!

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I love using Golden Russet as one of the crosses as the russet is almost always passed on. Yes to Ruby Sipper being one of my Pink Pearl x Golden Russet crosses and it has a brix of 17.

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Your posts inspired a search of the forum. I think back in 2018 you listed a different red-fleshed parent for RubySipper. Either way, it looks like one Iā€™d love to try.

edit:
Please let us know when we can grow your crosses.