Chicken Head Cold Remedy for Chicken with Croaking Noises

Two days ago our sweet Barred Rock hen May had a bad head cold.  Her beak was crusty, and she was making strange croaking noises.  I think she picked up a cold from a wild game bird who was carrying something that May hadn't previously been exposed to.

Moira with our Barred Rock May with the late Arucana Teri (RIP)

I found this youtube video of a sick croaking chicken.  May sounded exactly like this:



She also wasn't eating and just wanted to stand or sit still.  She felt very hot and feverish to the touch.

I checked in Juliette de Bairacli Levy's book The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable for a natural remedy for May.  This is the second time I have used her book for a chicken health issue.

I used 2 recipes from her book.  The first was a beak wash.  I used 2 teaspoons of water, 2 drops of Eucalyptus globulus essential oil, and a pinch of fine sea salt.  We cleaned her beak outside with q-tips, and then inside with fresh q-tips.  (The type of Eucalyptus oil was not specified, so probably other species of Eucalyptus would be just fine also, for example Eucalyptus smithii).

photo by Marja Flick-Buijs

The second recipe was for a garlic vinegar paste.  This was made up easily with 2 teaspoons of ground fresh garlic with 1 teaspoon of vinegar.  I used Juliette's recommended dosage which was 1/2 teaspoon, 2 times per day. We checked on May the morning after 1 day of this treatment.  She was more active, her croaking sounds were not as loud, she still felt warm, but not terribly hot or feverish.  We fed her one more dose of garlic and washed the outside of her beak, but she was strong enough that she would not allow us to wash the inside of her beak.  So she only received the one dose on the second day.  Today is day 3 and we are very happy that  she is back to her normal self.

Easy DIY: Aromatherapy Ear Drop Recipe

Yesterday I made my first guest post at the Norwegian nature photography and simple living blog Kanelstrand.  The post includes an aromatherapy ear drop recipe that I have been using for many years.   How simple?  It just has 3 ingredients: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Lavender essential oil and Tea Tree Essential oil.   Easy DIY: Aromatherapy Ear Drop Recipe | Kanelstrand  I will be writing simple home remedy posts at Sonya's blog once a month, and I'll be sure to reshare them here.  

During cold damp winter months, it is important to keep your ears covered with a hat or a scarf. Exposure to wind can quickly lead to a chill.  When the body is chilled it is more susceptible to infections. This is something that has been understood in Traditional Chinese Medicine for many generations. It is always advised to protect the upper back or "Wind Gate" to avoid wind chills. Also importantly, do not go to bed or send children to bed with wet hair. It is too hard on the body to sleep with wet hair and it can often lead to stuffiness in the ears or head. After swimming one should take care to clear the ears of any water that has gotten stuck. This can be done after swimming by tilting the head to the side and filling the ear with a small amount of rubbing alcohol (Isopropanol) and then lifting the head to let the water drain out. If you are not comfortable using rubbing alcohol, then plain water can also work. Now that you know a few things you can do to prevent ear troubles, what can you make to have on hand just in case for ear aches?

Aromatherapy Ear Drop Recipe

• 1 oz Extra Virgin Olive oil 
• 18 drops of pure Lavender* (Lavandula angustifolia) essential oil 
• 18 drops of pure Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) essential oil

Add Extra Virgin Olive Oil and essential oils to an amber glass bottle.  Label the bottle with the ingredients and date and store in a cool dark place out of reach from children. I use this oil around 3-5 times a day if I have an ear ache.  If it is cold out, one should warm the oil bottle in the hands first before adding drops to the ear.   To apply turn the head to the side, add a few drops of oil to the ear canal until the drops are felt to 'fill' the ear. Put a piece of cotton gently outside the ear to prevent the oil from leaking out. Avoid stuffing a small piece of cotton into the ear canal where it could become stuck.

*It is important to choose pure esentials oils that have not been adulterated or extended for this recipe. There are many disreputable sellers who extend their oils with chemicals. You can test for purity of an essential oil by adding a drop of oil to a piece of paper. After 24 hours there should be no residue visible on the paper.

Comparing Essential Oils with Chemical Fragrance Oils in Consumer Products: How and Why to Spot the Differences

Aromatherapy effects of dynamic natural plant essential oils cannot be duplicated by man-made chemical fragrance oils. Aromatherapy is a branch of plant medicine that has nothing to do with synthetic fragrances. However, because the health-promoting properties of true Aromatherapy are desirable, many companies use cheaper chemical fragrance oils that do NOT carry these benefits, but will mislead customers (knowingly or unknowingly) by using the terms aromatherapy or aroma to make it seem like they are the same thing. The most offensive promotion I have seen was an "herbal soap" made with chemical fragrance oils rather than herbal essential oils. In order for a product to have genuine aromatherapeutic properties is must be made with unadulterated plant essences, plant infused oils, or other plant based ingredients. Products labeled for example as "Lavender Fragrance Oil" you may assume are synthetic. A product made with Lavender essential oil will be labeled as such.

How can you tell if you are smelling a pure essential oil product or natural perfume? There are various ways to test an undiluted oil or essential oil for purity, but when it comes to diluted oils in body or or home fragrance products your nose is also a fine judge. When you smell a product made with pure essential oils you should feel drawn to inhale deeply. In contrast when smelling a chemical substitute you may feel like you want to immediately cease inhalation or even hold your breath. Just think of a trip down laundry or home fragrance aisle at the supermarket, which is often overwhelming for people even without chemical sensitivities. Using personal body products with chemical fragrances such as these may contribute to stress on the liver and development of chemical sensitivities over time.

In addition it is noteworthy that certain plant scents cannot be stabilized. Natural perfumery expert Mandy Aftel notes in her book Essence and Alchemy that following florals cannot be produced naturally: Freesia, Honeysuckle, Violet, Tulip, Lily, Gardenia, Heliotrope, Orchid, Lilac, and Lily of the Valley. Also you may find the following fruity 'flavor oils' in various lip balms, but I can assure you they are not essential oils. These are Cherry, Watermelon, Apple, Raspberry, etc. Citrus fruits flavors however can be condensed from collection of the essential oils from outer peel.



Lavender photo by Photo by Heron 15:46, 11 Jul 2004 (UTC). This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License.

Week 9 Herb Blog Contest with Nature's Gift

At Nature's Gift we have been pleased and excited about hosting this week's contest. The hard part has been trying to decide what to offer as the prize!

We chose Deluxe Personal Inhalers from our new shipment, filled with the winner's choice of several healing synergies.

We'll ship one of these pretty purse-sized inhalers filled with your choice of our SineEase Synergy for easing sinus pain and congestion, Happy Morning Synergy, recommended for easing the nausea of morning sickness, but also helpful for motion sickness, etc., or our research based depression fighter "Citrus Smile."

To be entered in the contest, respond to this post, here, and at all the blogs listed below.

To make the contest even more exciting, ONE lucky entrant, drawn from one of the listed blogs, will receive a signed copy of Marge's Book "Essential Oils and Aromatics".

You may check these links for some of the reviews, from the Journal of the Northeast Herbal Association, or from The Massage Therapy Journal.

Remember all of the blogs below are participating, so visit all of them and post to increase your chances of winning.

The Essential Herbal

Herbs from the Labyrinth

Patti's Potions

PrairieLand Herbs

The Rosemary House

Nature's Gift

Torchsong Studio

SunRose Aromatics

Garden Chick