Further Possibilities - In the Care of Livestock
On many farms, animals are given antibiotics with their feed or are drenched in order to reduce losses from disease. The use of agents against parasites is also a common occurrence. Unnatural conditions for raising livestock offer a fertile breeding ground for the transmission of diseases, particularly where animals are kept in overcrowded conditions. Chickens living in cages pick at grains that could have droppings from the other chickens stuck to them. If they have a free run, they also drink fecally contaminated rainwater that collects in little hollows in the earth. In the meadows, the animals eat grass that contains droppings from other animals.
The use of grapefruit seed extract offers many advantages. On the one hand, no harmful side effects occur. For example, the intestinal flora of the animals, which can be damaged by antibiotics, remains intact. This results in an important part of the natural defense system being maintained. The immune system of the animals is not weakened and the constitution of the animals is not additionally strained by chemicals, such as those contained in the customary vermifuges. Because of all these advantages, the chances of the animals remaining healthy in a natural manner are enormously increased. Both breeders and consumers are interested in healthy and vigorous animals. The fact that no residue is deposited in the meat of the animals is a further welcome effect. The icing on the cake is that less chemicals get into the environmental cycle.
We have received many extremely positive and enthusiastic reports about using grapefruit seed extract when raising farm animals. Pigs, cows, horses, and chickens all profit from its antibacterial, antiviral, fungicidal, and anti-parasitic effect.
The US Department of Agriculture in Greenport, New York, carried out a series of tests that were reported on September 7, 1982. These confirmed that in a dilution of 1:10 grapefruit seed extract was completely effective within 2 minutes against the pathogens of the dreaded Foot-and-Mouth disease (MKS virus), as well as the African Swine Fever (ASF virus). The pathogens of Swine Vesicular Disease (Erysipeloid) can be eliminated even with a dilution of 1:100 within 2 minutes. Since grapefruit seed extract doesn't leave undesirable deposits in tissue, its use is not subject to any limiting regulations, as is the case for antibiotics or other medications. Negative effects such as a reduction of meat quality have not been observed.
Grapefruit seed extract can be very easily mixed into the food in powder form or added to the drinking water in liquid form. The animals accept it without reservation. Higher dosages, such as that for massive worm infestation, can also be sprayed directly into the mouth. The dosage plan at the end of this chapter applies to all types of animals on a farm, at the zoo or circus, or wherever animals are kept. For acute diseases or epidemics, the dose should be doubled.
For external diseases, the same recommendations apply as for pets. See the last chapter on this topic. An interesting use for grapefruit seed extract would lie in the application against hoof diseases such as foot rot (panaritium). In the damp or wet seasons particularly, sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and donkeys suffer from this problem, which can sometimes be very severe. Thanks to its antiseptic and fungicidal quality, grapefruit seed extract should be effective. It would be best to lead the animals through a shallow reservoir that has an adequate amount of the extract with as little dilution as possible. While walking through it, the hooves of the animals will be soaked with the extract. If possible, the hooves should be trimmed beforehand.
When using ready-made grapefruit seed extract for internal and external application, please always pay attention to the information and recommendations on the packaging.
In the case of notifiable diseases, the normal regulations apply, even when grapefruit seed extract is used. The extract doesn't automatically replace the advice and help of a vet or animal health practitioner-but it certainly can replace a great deal of the sometimes extremely harmful chemicals and environmental toxins that belong neither in the physiology of animals nor the biological cycles of nature.
In the course of our research for this book, we came across the agricultural consultant Knud Dencker-Jensen who has a great deal of personal experience in using the grapefruit seed extract "CitriSan" in bio-dynamic cultivation.
He advises farmers who are converting to bio-dynamic farming and is willing to share his vast experience in using grapefruit seed extract for agricultural purposes.
However, it should be mentioned that the latest successes in raising livestock by farmers working with the bio-dynamic method cannot be attributed to the use of grapefruit seed extract alone. This method provides more appropriate conditions for raising animals and a more natural nutrition as opposed to the usual way of keeping and feeding livestock on farms. Food supplements are also fed, but they consist of such beneficial and aromatic substances as stinging nettle, fennel, woodbine, birch leaves, ash leaves, spruce needles, hazel leaves, lime leaves, willow leaves, lovage, wormwood, calendula flowers, dill, camomile, chervil, coriander, caraway, marjoram, lemon balm, peppermint, sage, yarrow flowers, thyme, hyssop, garlic, and coral calcium.
In addition to treatment and prevention of internal and external diseases, grapefruit seed extract has a further significant area of use in raising animals on farms. It can also be applied with excellent results for non-toxic stall hygiene. Whatever is used for successful disinfection in hospitals can be just as valuable in stalls. In earlier times, the stall walls were whitewashed once a year to disinfect them. Today, chemicals with sometimes questionable effects on health are commonly used for this purpose. Sprayed or mixed with the cleaning water, grapefruit seed extract provides a germ-free environment. In sanitary basins at the barn entrance for insemination stations or breeding compounds, the extract provides an excellent antibacterial effect without any chemical poisons clinging to shoes or hooves.
Milking facilities can be effectively disinfected with grapefruit seed extract. Since minor traces of the applied disinfectant always remain in the piping and tanks, the use of a non-toxic agent is particularly desirable here. For thorough disinfection, a concentration of a teaspoon of liquid grapefruit seed extract in 10 liters (350 fl. oz.) of water is recommended.
Here is a list to simplify dosage for internal use in animals. The guiding value is: approx. 0.5 drops of liquid grapefruit seed extract or 8 mg pulverized grapefruit seed extract should be administered per kilogram of body weight.
The therapeutically optimal daily dose of liquid grapefruit seed extract (with 33% grapefruit extractives. 20% active ingredients) and pulverized grapefruit seed extract (with 50% active ingredients) for animals with diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi or for gastrointestinal disorders would be:
For 0.5 kilograms of body weight 0.01 ml = 0.2 drops
For 1 kilogram of body weight 0.02 ml = 0.3 drops
For 2.5 kilograms of body weight 0.05 ml = 0.7 drops
For 5 kilograms of body weight 0.1 ml = 1.5 drops
For 10 kilograms of body weight 0.2 ml = 3 drops
For 20 kilograms of body weight 0.4 ml = 6 drops
For 30 kilograms of body weight 0.6 ml = 9 drops
For 40 kilograms of body weight 0.8 ml = 12 drops
For 50 kilograms of body weight 1.0 ml = 15 drops
For 60 kilograms of body weight 1.2 ml = 18 drops
For 70 kilograms of body weight 1.4 ml = 21 drops
For 80 kilograms of body weight 1.6 ml = 24 drops
For 90 kilograms of body weight 1.8 ml = 27 drops
For 100 kilograms of body weight 2.0 ml = 30 drops
For 150 kilograms of body weight 3.0 ml = 45 drops
For 200 kilograms of body weight 4.0 ml = 60 drops
For 250 kilograms of body weight 5.0 ml = 85 drops
For 300 kilograms of body weight 6.0 ml = 100 drops
For 350 kilograms of body weight 7.0 ml = 115 drops
Etc.
The therapeutically optimal daily dose of pulverized grapefruit seed extract for animals with diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi or for gastrointestinal disorders would be:
For 0.4 kilograms of body weight 1 mg
For 0.8 kilograms of body weight 2 mg
For 1.3 kilograms of body weight 3 mg
For 2.5 kilograms of body weight 6 mg
For 5 kilograms of body weight 12 mg
For 10 kilograms of body weight 25 mg
For 20 kilograms of body weight 50 mg
For 30 kilograms of body weight 75 mg
For 40 kilograms of body weight 100 mg
For 50 kilograms of body weight 125 mg
For 60 kilograms of body weight 150 mg
For 70 kilograms of body weight 175 mg
For 80 kilograms of body weight 200 mg
For 90 kilograms of body weight 225 mg
For 100 kilograms of body weight 250 mg
For 150 kilograms of body weight 375 mg
For 200 kilograms of body weight 500 mg
For 250 kilograms of body weight 625 mg
For 300 kilograms of body weight 750 mg
For 350 kilograms of body weight 875 mg
Etc.
In case of an acute infection the dosage may be exceeded. If using ready-made grapefruit seed extract products, always pay attention to the information on the packaging.
From book: Shalila Sharamon & Bodo J. Baginski "The Healing Power of Grapefruit Seed"
