Pets as Herbal Teachers—Part 4
Filed Under Herbalist |
I’ve talked about dogs and natural health, but now I want to be sure to mention my two male cockatiels, Dino and Chip.
Although I didn’t hand feed my little boys, I have had them since they were young. Now 17, they are aging and slowing down a bit. Later on, I will discuss how I used flower essences to help them get rid of childhood traumas. Being removed from their parents while young to be handfed must be very traumatic for young birds. However, I do want to talk about herbs and my birds.
As Chip gets older, his gentle nature seems to indicate a weaker constitution. About 5 years back, he began to have what looked like seizures—the kind where he would sit erect and become stiff and unresponsive for several minutes. This usually happened after he was surprised. I thought about it and pau d’arco bark came to mind.
The pau d’arco tree, known as taheebo, grows mostly in Brazil and Argentina. Unlike other surrounding trees, pau d’arco doesn’t develop fungal growth. Traditionally it is used to strengthen and support the immune system and help maintain a healthy circulatory system.
After adding about 1/3 of a capsule daily to the birds’ food, the number of his attacks lessened and now they occur only rarely. It makes sense that many herbs would work with birds just as with animals or people. Thanks, Chip, for helping me learn this truth.
Wendy
