Preparing leaves for consumption

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JessiLynnCVT

Active member
Joined
Jun 29, 2012
Messages
34
Location
Illinois
I have multiple chin safe types of trees that have never been sprayed. I would love to harvest the leaves before the weather causes me to lose them all. I have a large dehydrator but am unsure of how I should treat them prior to dehydrating them. Does anyone have any idea?
 
People feed apple leaves, I tired once and the chins looked at my like I was feeding them poison.
 
a lot of people feed apple leaves. And since no one sells them in bulk I would like to make some. I have a mix from Whimsy coming that has crab apple leaves in it and I have heard nothing but wonderful things about them.
 
I wasn't being critical - I have just never heard of it. Like Dawn - I think my animals would like the novelty of it but if I expected them to eat it - they would look at me like I was nuts! :)
 
I would not feed apple leaves due to the chance of cyanide poisoning - (they have a compound present in seeds and leaves, not the wood which is why the wood is safe)

Apple and other fruit trees contain prussic acid glycosides in leaves and seeds but little or none in the fleshy part of the fruits. Toxicity can result from improper or malicious use, but in the case of livestock, the most frequent cause is ingestion of plants that contain cyanogenic glycosides. These include Triglochin maritima (arrow grass), Hoecus lunatus (velvet grass), Sorghum spp (Johnson grass, Sudan grass, common sorghum), Prunus spp (apricot, peach, chokecherry, pincherry, wild black cherry), Sambucus canadensis (elderberry), Pyrus malus (apple), Zea mays (corn), and Linum spp (flax).

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/210800.htm
 
I guess I don't know what the benefit would be? Just for a treat? Really they wouldn't provide much nutritional value and might take away from their feed intake if feed too much.
 
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