Essential oils and chickens

[breezy]

Has anyone ever used essential oils on their chickens for injuries or illness? If you have what oils did you use and for what conditons or wounds? Thanks

 

[thndrdancr]

Breezy,

I followed this post for several days and surely thought there would be some responses, and I was very curious as to what folks would say.

I have heard to not use essential oils on chickens, as you never know how it will affect them.

Now..that being said, I have a hen that has become an internal layer. That means pretty much a death sentence for a chicken unless they get a hysterectomy, and even thats a bit iffy.

Now, I am a big fan of essential oils for MYSELF, my own person. I never used them on my chickens as I read how dangerous it could be. That is until my Red became an internal layer.

She gets REALLY bad, I was first lubing her up really well with olive oil, but that wasnt doing the trick. ( I have a needleless big size syringe I use for this and am very careful to do it slow and easy and not TOO much so as to hurt her).

Red is one of my first babies, so I love her dearly. Knowing how powerful Oregano oil is, I later (after a few days) put a couple of drops in the olive oil (NEVER USE ESSENTIAL OILS FULL STRENGTH, they give a chemical BURN!!!!) That seemed to help her quite a lot, but didnt pull her out of her funk.

This last time, instead of a few drops of Oregano oil, I used several drops of Nutmeg oil. Nutmeg oil is a wonderful painkiller. I must say, the first time I used it, she pulled out of her sickness (altho never did lay) and even started eating well and chasing the other hens and terrorizing the yard again.

She has done quite well for a very sick girl. This morning I found her so bad tho, she was not getting up and had about the equivalent of four yellow yolks on her and where she sleeps. She wouldnt even eat a grape this morning, or hamburger. I gave her another warm bath with the nutmeg/olive oil treatment, left her with plenty of food. When I got home tonite, she looked pretty sick still but is eating at least now.

This has been going on for at least a couple months now, I know I am losing the battle, and I would never have used an essential oil on her if I thought she weren't in imminent danger of dying anyhow.
In Red's case, its been a very good thing for her, and prolonged her days at least until she could enjoy the sunshine and springtime. It also kept her from being in pain, as if she acted like she was hurting I would not have kept her going for two months.

Anyhow, sorry this is so long, but this is something I was also interested in and thought I would relate my story.

Jill

 

[breezy]

Thanks for sharing. I use essential oils a lot on dogs and on a few cats as well as myself but have been unable to locate any references to the use of them for birds of any kind. May I ask why you chose oregano for the first treatment? Its an oil I usually use for its anti viral properties. I have been wondering if ravensara would be effective for some of the respiratory ailments chickens get and if lavender and helichrysum can be used for wound treatment and trauma. Maybe those people who use essential oils can explore essential oil use when the need arises and then post on it so we can gather what works and what doesnt. I really hope your hen does ok.

 

[thndrdancr]

That is exactly why I used oregano, the antiviral and antibiotic properties it has.

Usually internal layers are then accompanied by an internal infection and many times that is what ends up killing them.

She responded to it, but she just seems to respond better to the nutmeg, not sure if its becuz its such a strong pain killer, or what.

I love nutmeg oil myself, almost go into a dream state anymore when I have someone rub it on my back when I am hurting, etc.
At first I found the smell annoying, but its funny when the mind accompanies a smell with "feel good" how you begin to like the smell real quick.

It was the ONLY thing I found (mixed with olive oil) that helped my neck when I had a car injury. Tried everything, painkillers, muscle rubs, you name it, and absolutely nothing really dented it. I had bought some on a trip that said good for a muscle rub and thought, what the hay, tried everything else, and was the first time I was pain free in weeks. So I am sold on the stuff.

 

[whirledwidepeas]

On a similar note...

I had a one week old chick that kept her eyes half shut, wouldn't eat, and slept all the time. In a desperate attempt to save her, I made a tea out of Reishi mushrooms and fed it to her via dropper 3 times a day. She's now one of the perkiest pullets!

Reishi is a great herbal remedy for boosting the immune system over time and generally healing the body (among many many other things!) - perhaps it could work in addition to condition-specific essential oils for treating your sick hen!

 

[breezy]

Thats pretty cool about the mushrooms. I know they have some powerful properties but I dont know a whole lot about them.. I need to learn more

Thndrdancr I havent used nutmeg for pain so I will have to give that a shot. I usually use lavender for wounds...makes them go numb and I use either sweet birch or wintergreen for bone pain like arthritis. Is the pain from your accident mostly muscular?

 

[candyNflowers]

I havent heard of nutmeg oil being a painkiller before will have to try it on myself. the only thing I saw online with chickens and oils was that tea tree oil wasnt a good idea. figuring lavender is one of the more safe oils for people and might be the case with chickens but havent tried it yet.-lisa

 

[lifthiminsong]

My chicken has had somewhat loose stools, little interest in eating, some hiding and lethargy, and just today I noticed her shaking her head very so often. So, the search for help is on...In another thread, someone suggested using oregano oil called Ropadiar in chicken's water. I'm considering trying straight Oregano oil in my chicken's water, but I'm unsure what ratio to give her.

Any suggestions? I'm an official Essential Oil junkie, using Young Living products for a few years now.

 

[MLPChick]

I'm surprised there is not more info in this thread, I'll keep checking back. I'm new to chickens (live ones anyways) My girls are just over 2 months old at the moment and am looking for preventative uses and possible natural remedies for future issues that come up

 

[chooks4life]

Quote: Neem oil (cold pressed seed) is great for scaly leg mites though I use stockholm tar for that more often as it's a potent painkiller and does the job in two or three applications. In Australia they sell neem oil for... I'll get the bottle and read off it... "psoriasis, eczema, cold sores, skin ulcers, sun spots, ring worm, athletes foot, fungal infections, acne, fleas, ticks, summer itch, hot spots, skin irritations, warts, moles" --- and I've used it successfully to save my cat from dying from severe blue pigeon lice infestation; her whole face was a scab. It's not recommended for pregnant women, though.

Many oils are great applied directly for certain things, but I'm not too familiar with using essential oils, though some swear by coconut oil for wounds and infections. Herbs naturally contain essential oils so if you're using them you're already applying them whether internally or externally. Juliette de Bairacli Levy is a great author to look up for herbal properties and cures, I follow her teachings with great success.

I use cold pressed extra virgin olive oil as one of my main assaults on any virus or problem, almost, lol. I give it as a laxative drench (made laxative just by giving a more than they need, not that it makes them do runny poops, just hurries it up and thereby dislodges lots of harmful microbes, parasites, etc and of course olive oil's got other medicinal properties too). I've never had an egg bound hen and all my hens have had diets high in natural oils as I avoid overprocessed feed. One other thing I thought of: I had a hen who I got from a breeder who wasn't a good breeder, really. Anyway she lived with a constant case of enteritis. She was never actually infected, just constantly bloated from it. I think the reason it didn't infect was because I always kept her, like my other chooks, on a diet that included raw garlic. Kelp's great too.