Mulberry ~ The Leafy Treat with a Long History

There is something rather lovely about a mulberry tree.

It’s leaves are soft, generous, and unmistakably leafy, while it’s branches offer a little more substance for curious teeth. Long before mulberry found its way into our gardens, kitchens, and jars of dried forage, it had already earned a reputation as a useful food plant for animals.

For me, and many others I imagine, mulberry may bring back a rather different memory.

One of climbing the larger trees or feeding the glorious leaves to the shoebox of silkworms a friend (or the class) may have had. It’s funny how certain plants can carry memories with them. These days, the older versions of us, may look at them like a nuisance or just a lovely shady tree that has edible berries. For my mother and I, we have begun looking at mulberry leaves from a slightly different perspective - but that childhood connection never really disappears. What was once food for silkworms has become something we now appreciate as a useful forage for rabbits and guinea pigs too.

And perhaps that’s part of what makes foraging so lovely. Sometimes a leaf isn’t just a leaf. Sometimes it takes you right back up that tree.

Meet the Mulberry

Mulberry belongs to the genus Morus, which includes several species of mulberry tree.

You may know it best for its dark, juicy berries, but the leaves are the real stars of this particular story.

Mulberry foliage has been used as animal forage for generations, and research has examined its nutritional value as a feed for rabbits and guinea pigs. White mulberry (Morus alba) in particular has been extensively studied as a forage plant.

For our little herbivores, that makes the mulberry tree rather more interesting than its delicious berries might suggest.

A Leaf Worth Foraging

Rabbits and guinea pigs are built around a high-fibre lifestyle.

Their digestive systems are designed for a steady supply of fibrous plant material, with grass hay and/or grass forming the foundation of their diet. Additional safe forage can provide variety, texture, and opportunities for natural feeding behaviours.

Mulberry fits nicely into that bigger picture.

They can be offered fresh when correctly identified and safely harvested, or dried and stored as part of a forage collection. Studies have also found mulberry foliage to be a useful forage ingredient for rabbits, while broader forage references specifically include mulberry leaves among plants suitable for guinea pigs.

It is not about replacing the hay rack with a mulberry tree.

It is about giving your bun or piggy another safe leaf to discover.

And some animals take their job as professional leaf inspectors extremely seriously.

Fresh or Dried?

Both have their place.

Fresh mulberry leaves can be offered as part of a varied fresh forage selection, provided they have been correctly identified and collected from a safe, uncontaminated source. They do have a tendency to wilt extraordinarily quickly when removed from the branch, though.

Dried mulberry leaves are especially handy for enrichment and forage mixes. Drying concentrates the leaves into a lightweight little parcel of leafy goodness that can be stored and scattered later.

For home-dried forage, the golden rule is simple:

Dry thoroughly and store carefully.

Leaves should be cleaned, free from mould, and completely dry before being stored. Any forage showing mould, mildew, or signs of spoilage should be immediately discarded and may infect the whole batch.

Foraging is More Than Food

One of the lovely things about dried leaves is that they can turn an ordinary meal into a little treasure hunt.

Scatter a few leaves through hay.

Tuck some into a forage box.

Hide them beneath other safe forage.

Or simply leave a little pile somewhere interesting and let your bun or piggies investigate it at their own pace.

Foraging encourages animals to search, sniff, choose, and chew. It adds another layer to mealtime rather than simply placing food in a bowl and declaring the banquet open.

And if you’ve ever watched a guinea pig suddenly discover that previously ignored leaf is apparently the greatest thing ever created, you’ll understand that enrichment can be a very serious business.

What About the Branches?

This is where mulberry gets particularly interesting.

The leaves provide forage, while suitable untreated branches can offer another opportunity for natural chewing and exploration.

Chewing is normal behaviour for rabbits, whose teeth grow continuously, and safe wooden enrichment can help provide appropriate things to gnaw.

The important word here is safe.

Branches should come from correctly identified, suitable trees and should be free from pesticides, herbicides, paint, preservatives, and other chemical treatments. Random branches collected from roadsides, treated gardens, or unknown trees are not worth the gamble.

Mulberry can therefore offer something rather charming: a leaf for the forage pile and a branch for the chewing pile.

A whole little tree’s worth of enrichment.

What About the Fruit?

The leaves may be our main interest when it comes to mulberry forage, but the fruit has its place too.

Ripe mulberries are naturally sweet, so fresh fruit is best thought of as an occasional treat rather than an everyday food. Rabbits and guinea pigs generally do better when fruit remains a small part of their overall diet, with grass hay and other appropriate forage doing the heavy lifting.

But mulberries don’t always have to wait until they’re perfectly ripe before they become part of a forage mix.

At Hooked On Hay, we also use small amounts of unripe mulberry fruit, carefully dehydrated or air-dried before being added to some of our chaff blends. Once dried, these little pieces become a concentrated botanical ingredient that can add variety, texture, and a subtle fruity element to a forage mix.

The important part is small amounts and a balanced mix.

Fruit, whether fresh or dried, is an addition rather than a dietary stable. Drying also removes water and concentrates the fruit, so dried fruit should be offered sparingly compared with fresh fruit.

So while the berries might get all the glory, we’re quite happy to appreciate the mulberry tree from top to bottom.

Leaves for foraging.

Branches for chewing.

And little pieces of fruit tucked amongst the botanicals.

The mulberry tree really does know how to keep a small herbivore busy.

From Tree to Forage

There is something wonderfully old-fashioned about gathering leaves from a tree and turning them into something useful.

A fresh green leaf becomes a dried one.

A dried leaf becomes part of a forage mix.

A branch becomes a chew.

And suddenly something that might otherwise have been swept from the garden becomes part of an animal’s day.

That is the heart of foraging.

It isn’t about finding the fanciest ingredient.

It is about noticing what nature has already provided, learning what is safe, and giving our animals opportunities to experience food in a way that feels a little more natural.

Mulberry just happens to be particularly generous - even for humans.

Leaves can be steeped and used for tea, branches can be used for crafts, and if you’re a human with a sweet tooth, the berries are amazing. They also stain, so they can also be used for dyes.

Not a bad little tree at all.

A Little Foraging Reminder

Whenever collecting your own forage, make sure you can positively identify the plant and that the area is free from pesticides, herbicides, roadside contamination, animal waste, and other pollutants. If you are uncertain about a plant or its growing conditions, leave it where it is.

And remember: forage is an addition to a balanced diet, not a replacement for the grass hay that should remain the foundation of rabbit and guinea pig nutrition.

Every leaf has a story. Sometimes, it just takes a little patience to notice it.

The tree has been inspected. It contains leaves. I require all of them.