Have a first aid kit for the Animals?
Here's a good blog post from Timber Creek Farm.
She does include injectable penicillin, but add the recommendation that you clear with the vet first.
Comments
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I need to have a first aid kit put together. I keep putting it off then have to scramble when I need things.
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I have three first aid kits: one for humans, one for dog/cat, and another for the parrot. I will reread this article later and contemplate if I should add anything else.
I am contemplating adding a tiny amount of ACV to the water I provide the wild birds. It could help their health and inhibit mold in the container.
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This is a great idea for anyone with a farm, ranch or just pets. Excellent topic. Thanks for posting @RustBeltCowgirl
I was impressed by the list provided but I would like to expand on it a bit and make some suggestions for alternatives.
I think the suggestion of a plastic tub (rather than a medicine bag) is a really good one for treating animals. You are not always in the best of situations (sometimes out in the rain, mud, snow, ice, etc.) and a plastic tub is waterproof and easily cleaned.
Tweezers are missing from this list. A magnifying glass would be a good addition. And a small flashlight (or better yet, a head lamp). Swabs of some kind; Q-tips or longer ones. I’d include a couple of larger syringes (no needles) for irrigating wounds. A razor might be useful if you have to remove hair.
Non-stick or telfa gauze pads won’t stick to hair making removal easier. Roller gauze might be better than pads for some applications. Vet wrap (Co-flex) is in my people first aid kit as well as for animals. It is a great product.
Oregon grape root tincture is an awesome topical antibacterial. Or anything with berberine; barberry, goldenseal, gold thread. I have a tincture combination of echinacea and goldenseal that I carry as well as Oregon grape root.
Propolis is also a good antibacterial agent and helps seal wounds (preventing maggots). Prevents licking. It can be used to treat ear and skin infections in dogs. Propolis is also used to treat pet gingivitis and periodontitis. This next bit is from a study done on the benefits of propolis in veterinary medicine. “Propolis is used as ointment to control mastitis in milking cows. In pig herds, it is used as a prophylactic agent for respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases by adding 5% propolis to milk. It is also used as a stimulant for the growth of under developing rams, pigs, and calves. Other uses can be as a prophylaxis to counteract typhoid fever in ducks, wounds healing, and as a local anesthetic for surgery.” Following is a link to download the full study if anyone is interested. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270892666_Propolis_in_Dogs_Clinical_Experiences_and_Perspectives_A_Brief_Review
Absorbine liniment is excellent to have for muscle/tendon/ligament injuries. You can make your own version of Absorbine by making a tincture of wormwood in rubbing alcohol. To this, you could add a bit of Arnica tincture or Cottonwood bud tincture. Oil of wintergreen would also make a good addition to a liniment (do your research and be cautious with EOs on animals). On its own, wormwood tincture is a good anti-fungal.
Yunnan Pai Yao is a hemostatic agent in TCM that is recommended in both veterinary and human first aid. Or you could dry and powder yarrow.
Activated charcoal for making drawing poultices.
I would also include a homeopathic pet kit. These are available from Helios pharmacy in the UK. https://www.helios.co.uk/en/shop/helios-pet-kit
This is a link to a downloadable chart on Herbs for Animals by the Herbal Academy. https://theherbalacademy.com/get-free-herbs-animals-chart/
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I have searched the blog but can't find any articles on pet or veterinary medicine.
@Marjory Wildcraft How about a blog post from Doc Jones about what to put in your first aid kit? Maybe a webinar?
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hi @torey actually I have done a series of pet vet short videos with Doc Jones. Hmm, let me see if I can find the links.
But Doc and I were talking recently and he said "I keep telling everyone that herbal medicine for people is pretty much the same for animals, just different dosing". He says everyone keeps telling him to write a book... he says he doesn't have time and it doesn't make any sense because treating animal is the same as treating humans.
But we came to the conclusion that all he needed to do we re-title the herb book for humans and it was written! SO I think that is what he is doing.
BRB when I find links...
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OK, here we go, here is a few. I know I recorded about 8 of them... Kimber my duaghter was doing the shooting. We were visiting him so Kimber could work in his clinic to see if she really wanted to be come a vet.
Funny, Kimber loved the vet clinic and it helped her tremendously. For me, I realized I had made the right decision in never pursuing a vet degree. LOL
Have fun with these!
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@Marjory Wildcraft I agree with Doc Jones, that a people first aid kit and an animal first aid kit are very similar. Most of the things I mentioned above are in my medical bag.
But there are some differences. Maybe he could do a post on items we may have in a people kit that are not appropriate for animals (some EOs, garlic, willow bark {cats}, etc.). What not to use if licking is an issue.
Maybe a ratio for people to use for dosing. XX number of drops per body weight? And how often.
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Thanks for the links @Marjory Wildcraft.
I think we were posting at the same time. :)
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@RustBeltCowgirl funnily enough, I mentioned herbal animal treatments when asked about expanding the TGN courses. When I had my farm a few years ago, I had a hard plastic box with a few goodies inside, they were. Saline solution, gauze bandages, cotton wool, scalpel, tweezers, Manuka honey, cayenne pepper, jar of dried camomile, hydrogen peroxide, preg testing gloves and uterine pessaries, a couple of denim patches and some Kwik grip glue and a stitching kit. This just about covered what I needed. I now make a wound cream from comfrey, calendula & rosemary.(for us and our pets and to give to friends)
the camomile was for anything eye related(makes a soothing eye wash) Manuka honey great for wounds, cayenne to help stop bleeding, denim patches and glue to cover an infected eye from sunlight and dust.
thanks for posting this interesting topic.
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@JodieDownUnder I'd love to get more details on the wound cream, if you'd be willing to share specifics on how you make and use it! Thank you, friend!
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@Merin Porter I make my lotion with infused calendula oil, cold comfrey tea and rosemary EO. So for ease of recipe, 250 ml of infused oil, 250ml of cold tea, 30g beeswax and 50 drops EO- 1%dilution. I do keep this in the fridge. I had to use it yesterday, jammed the top of my ring finger between 2 pieces of firewood, big blood blister and then popped, blood dripping through my leather glove! I’ve dressed it twice and its looking good. I’ve got a couple of horsey friends that I’ve given jars of this to and they tell me they like it, wounds heal well and hair grows back quickly.
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@JodieDownUnder I'm so sorry about your finger! Glad it's healing nicely. Ouch!
Thank you for this recipe! I'm assuming this would be a good one to keep on hand for dogs, too? Also, do you have a thought on how long the lotion lasts in the fridge?
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@Merin Porter finger is healing great. With some internal arnica capules and my homemade wound cream, almost back to normal. You know what tips of fingers are like, bumping on everything you touch, I’ve no pain at all. I have a glass jar in my fridge, (holds about 300mls) with access to all the family, wife, dog and cat! Even been known to grab a spoon and dole some out to a friend to take home for their problem. The contents of that jar are over 12 months old and still going strong!
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I've never had livestock, just dogs and cats. I have a backpack first aid kit for myself. Items are bagged in clear zip bags of varying sizes, according to use. Bandages and dressings, wound care liquids and salves, pain relief, respiratory help (allergies included), tools (scalpel, tweezers, syringes, locking forceps, etc), OTC meds, digestive issues, blood pressure cuff and stethoscope, major trauma kit, and some splints.
I keep a small box of various size band-aids and some alcohol swabs on top. On the outside of the bag, I have attached a small pouch with airway with CPR masks, and a first aid book with pen, paper and local emergency info.
I do mix my herbs and my OTC meds and use whichever I think is best at the time.
I also keep a dog-specific bag and a cat specific bag in this main first aid bag.
Something that I would think every pet or livestock kit would need is a muzzle (various sizes if needed), several old towels, and some method of restraint. Rope, lead ropes, halters, leashes, old blankets - depending on the sizes and species of your animals. Also some wire nippers and possibly some pruning shears or other tool to cut an animal free of wire, netting, or other things that catch animals and trap them.
Towels and blankets to cover the animal's eyes will sometimes keep it from panic and being able to restrain it is safer for you and for them.
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Covering for animals eyes to keep from panicking is an excellent suggestion.
I took part in a Livestock Emergency Response course through my VFD a couple of years ago. It was about all livestock but focused on horses and the instructor recommended that we have a bra, sized 40B in our response bag. The straps fit over the ears, the cups cover the eyes and the back strap does up under their jaws. No underwires or lace (lets them see too much), black is best. 😀
Feminine hygiene products (not pads) were suggested as the best thing for their ears if there was a lot of loud or distressing noises.
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So great to know! Thank you very much for sharing -- and I'm happy that finger is doing well!!! :)
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Thanks for sharing these! Love the healing power of herbs!
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