Quote: On one of those sites they said its consistency becomes crystalline etc, like you mentioned, and given its applications as a sealant I would guess that's the only reason they use it. However since it's 'highly toxic' I would be willing to bet those who have used it for a good few years regularly (at that ratio I'd guess a decade) will be seeing cancers in their animals in future. Possibly in themselves too if they eat the birds and their eggs... Might be a long shot, true; but then again it also might be a future class-action court case. If I were a Vetirycin user I'd write in and ask them to remove it, the rest of their mixture sounds like it'd do the job minus that component... But some folks aren't as prone to cancer as others, same is true of animals, so it may not be an issue to some. Hope not anyway.
Either way the risk is probably negligible by itself. It is a tiny amount. The issue would likely be with generations developing sensitivity due to repeated exposure, or other carcinogenic environmental factors being the straws that break the camel's back, so to speak. Kinda like collies with Ivermectin. Generational exposure to trace amounts equals a severely allergic reaction that is hereditary. And we're always exposed to many carcinogenic things daily so anything we can remove from that burden helps our bodies cope and reduces risk of cancer. Same for birds obviously. Best wishes with that.
As far as my experience of scabs has been, they're best left on if the wound is healthy beneath. Sometimes the body is not as robust as it ought to be and in that case a scab is stopping drainage of the wound. If the skin around the edges of the scab goes pink or red or any other color than normal, I'd assume the scab should possibly come off to allow a better cleansing of the wound since the body is not 'on top of it'. But with Stockholm tar it will get straight through anything, scab or fur or feathers or normal skin or whatever, so there's no need to even remove dirt or dead tissue, nor to lance or bandage, etc... But USA citizens don't seem to have proper Stockholm tar, though it's worth the effort to obtain if you can. Works on the most hideous wounds, gangrene, golden staph, dog/fox maulings, etc.
Quote: Most chooks seem to love baths. And most like to be tended when in need, too, even the less intelligent sorts of animals can understand good intentions most of the time, and appreciate it. I believe animals are capable of learning compassion or something like it. How else does one explain a bully that becomes a nurturer and protector of its erstwhile victims after receiving TLC when it was in need? I've seen it happen time and time again across so many species; showing them care while they are in need often leads to them doing the same even though it's utterly abnormal behavior for their species.
Quote: Key word being 'unpasteurized' as I'm sure you know. So many folks try to use cooked or adulterated (dead) honey on wounds and find it doesn't work and say it's an old wives' tale. Raw honey contains protein, enzymes, antibiotics, vitamins and minerals, electrolytes, antibacterials, and a whole lot of other stuff we're still exploring and discovering which really does qualify it for high quality performance when used in wounds, but often when you try to research it you find junk science trivia saying it's mostly sugars or whatever... Not too much comprehensive info available in the common mainstream areas.
