This is the second year for my young coffee tree. Last year it appeared that rabbits ate the branches soon after they sprouted. I put a fence around the tree and new growth appeared. This year it looked like the tree was thriving until the branches fell off with the leaves this fall. Why did this happen? What should I do now? The photos show two branches still attached and 10-12 branches on the ground.
Rather than branches, those are actually part of the leaves! Each leaf has several pairs of another stem which contains pairs of leaflets. Searching for the Kentucky coffee tree leaves will give you a better idea of what I'm talking about.
This is to be expected. The entire leaf should drop, leaflets and stem, both. Branches are going to be thicker and stubbier when they do grow. They will grow with sets of these leaves on them.