Herbs for Rodents & Rabbits! | DRD Knaagdierwinkel®

You can order rodent herbs and rabbit herbs easily and quickly at DRD ^{Knaagdierwinkel®}

For fresh and traditionally dried herbs of the highest quality, DRD ^{Knaagdierwinkel®} is the right place for you! In our herbal webshop we have a wide range of herbs, leaves, flowers, harvest, fresh plants, but also herb pellets for all rodents and rabbits.

Herbs are a nice addition to your rodent or rabbit's daily menu. How many herbs you give depends greatly on the type of animal. For example, guinea pigs, rabbits, chinchillas and degus will happily eat a lot of herbs, while hamsters and gerbils will nibble on them much more sparingly.

Herbivorous (plant-eating) rodents in particular benefit greatly from herbs. Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Chinchillas and Degus need herbs in their diet to stay healthy.

Picking place of the herbs

The place where the herbs are picked is very important. Herbs should not be picked in a contaminated place. So not next to the road, or around industrial areas. Our herbs are all picked in nature reserves.

Only the most beautiful plant will be included

Only the most beautiful plant may be picked. Plants with spots, bugs or insects are not picked. A plant must be healthy and clean to qualify for the rodents.

View all herbs from the Rodent Grocer here

Harvesting herbs

Weather conditions play a major role when picking herbs. The weather should be dry and preferably sunny and calm. These are the best conditions for picking herbs. It depends on the plant at what time of day they can be picked. Our grocer is aware of this and knows exactly which time to choose for which plant. In summer, the plants must be picked in the morning (due to the heat), before they wither in the sun and the volatile substances evaporate. So early in the morning but after the dew evaporates.

Picking herbs after a rainy day is also not allowed. The herbs are then very difficult to dry and can mold and rot more quickly.

In order to retain as many active substances as possible, it is important to keep an eye on the harvest times. Our grocer does this very carefully.

Branches : Our branches are usually sawn off in winter, when there are no leaves left and the nutrients are well preserved within the branch.

Bark : Best harvested in early spring. Just before the flowering period, the sap flows abundantly through the twigs and branches.

Leaves : These are best picked after the appearance of the buds at the beginning of the flowering period. This is the time when leaves contain a lot of juices. Picking too early makes the leaves too wet and picking them too late makes them poor in active substances.

Flowers : These are best picked at the beginning of the flowering period. Just before opening, but before they fully open. The timing has to be perfect! Our roses are therefore harvested as buds.

Fruits : Our fruits are harvested just before ripeness. This is the perfect moment.

Harvest in a respectful manner

We believe it is important that our herbs are harvested in a way that is respectful of nature. This means that nature is not trampled, the animals that live within this nature are not affected and the harvest sites are not thinned out. Harvest areas must be able to relax. We also take into account protected plant species, which must not be damaged.

We support the butterfly and bee population through the way we sow and harvest.

Drying herbs

A dried herb can be used all year round. Once all moisture has evaporated, there is no longer any chance of mold and rot. This is also why we recommend not packaging the herbs in plastic. At high humidity, moisture can enter the plastic and cause mold and rot. Bacteria have free rein when the environment is moist. A properly dried herb normally contains no more than 10% moisture.

Before our herbs are dried, they are cleaned. This means that it has been cleared of earth, soil, moss and excess plant parts. This happens immediately after harvesting the plant. The drying process can then begin.

The flowers must be dried in the dark, while roots dry better in the open air. Each plant part has its own preference for a drying process. We take this into account so that we can guarantee the best quality.

ALWAYS FRESH RODENT HERBS!

As a specialist in the field of rodent nutrition, you as a customer benefit maximally from our knowledge and experience. We pay attention to the details so you don't have to worry about them. This is also reflected, for example, in our purchasing & storage policy. We focus on fresh and fresh instead of a lot and cheap. In addition, all our herbs are stored correctly, namely in a dark and dry place without sunlight, which can affect their nutritional value.