You guys know that I love EOs and they have been very beneficial to me . I turned to alternative meds, EOs being one, because I have several chronic illnesses.
I moved my flock indoors in 2014? I think. That changed things. Everyone said don't diffuse oils. At the time I was diffusing lavender as well as a blend from DoTerra at night in my room. I need the oils. Without them I don't sleep, last night I was up from 2-5:30. Then overslept. As usual.
I started reading -- books, not websites. Books written by MDs and PHDs and so forth, not people who are parroting (pardon the pun) what they hear.
I have taken the courses to be an aromatherapist, but never taken the exam.
I have read every word in the parrot-oriented FB essential oil groups. Stories of how a bird was 'saved' by EOs. Some had been exposed to smoke, toxic fumes, other items. I've read all the independent 3rd party tests that one group performs (they're eye-opening!). I do believe the oils worked in these cases.
Also - there are many business models like DT, YL including Pampered Chef and (Oh shoot, what's the jewelry line where it's all $5). They are just that, a business model. Slang term pyramid scheme, although that's technically a scheme where there is a promise of a product but it doesn't come to fruition, and with these companies there actually is a product. Anyway, potato potahto, it's a model that is often embraced in order to get a product out with minimal advertising cost, if you can get women (usually) talking about your product and selling it they'll do the word of mouth thing. That's exactly what the founders of Rodan and Fields, another multi-level marketing company, said was their motivation. So personally I don't care about DoTerr'as business style.
As far as the big, bad FDA saying "don't make these claims," this has been and always will be the goal toward alternative therapies from our gov't. They don't care about the fact that people are hurting they care about money. Big pharmaceutical companies have deep pockets and the FDA will remain in them. After all, if they said yeah go get alternative therapy, you'll actually be BETTER -- then they'd work their way out of a job. I was into herbal meds before they were a thing, late 70s/early 80s and the same thing happened then. The government, doctors, and therefore people who considered themselves "educated" and "above" those things chanted 'it doesn't work, it's voodoo science, it's false, it's fake, you don't know what's in those capsules.' If you were brave enough to try
a good brand and lucky enough to find someone well-versed in its healing properties, you discovered you could get better.... in my case chronic, recurring bronchitis and pneumonia dropped to, eventually, zero.
Anyway I feel fairly well versed in the topic and here's my 2 cents. I buy 2 brands: DoTerra and Plant Therapy. If you have an ethical issue with DoTerra, don't buy it but when I'm experiencing
severe restless legs and can't go to sleep and within 10 min of applying the right DT oil I'm asleep - that's important.
So. My point finally.
The more I learn, the less likely I am to expose my parrots to EOs in the air. Now, that is not to say I won't apply them topically for a particular use. But as mentioned above, they're not regulated. And we don't know everything. And you run across people who are putting more drops in the diffuser than recommended because they don't understand the process. Or they want to use a 'hot' oil and don't bother to find out it's toxic to birds. Or people who apply it neat to an open wound because they don't understand the oils are not mixed like say a bottle of cough syrup. There's not enough education for the public to make a correct decision.
Furthermore, if that bird was 'cured' by the essential oils, how do we know the tradeoff? What if it was 6 years off his life, would you take that? What if it's 10+ years? What if he gets some air sac issue down the road and nobody connects it to those EOs? So I do believe lavender is safe based on many sources who claim it is, but I am making a choice not to use it on my flock. Choosing not to use it is akin to choosing which foods to feed and not feed, in my opinion. Just a choice, and a personal choice. I believe in oils wholeheartedly and I do not diffuse them for parrots. I rarely use oils in my room now, even though my little corner is far from the birds and in the opposite corner from the air vent. I love these little guys and want to make every effort to keep them with me.
Would I diffuse if one had an illness and a respected expert suggested it? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Also ---- I can make topical concoctions for human use and not expose them. There are other ways of providing the same plant matter to birds. Herb salad, anyone? Or fresh plants. What about sprouts? Etc, Etc.
We don't have to diffuse in order to reap the benefits.
Sorry to rant in your thread,
@apsgreen . As you see you've hit a hot button in this forum! If you want to know more you might visit the FB groups.