Chamomile tea for the birds

[Lobby]

I have seen many references to giving chamomile tea to birds to help them stop plucking. So are we talking pure chamomile tea or would something like Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime tea work. The ingredients of the Sleepytime are: Chamomile, spearmint, West Indian lemongrass, tilia flowers, blackberry leaves, orange blossoms, hawthorn and rosebuds.

I have no idea if any of these are bad for birds or even where to find out if they are. I wonder if Sunflower has just Chamomile tea?

 

[GG.]

I get organic chamomile tea from the healthfood store

not sure if Celestial Seasonings uses anything to process their product that might be harmful or not

 

[JLcribber]

I use Tetley Lemon Chamomile Tea. The tea is not used to stop plucking. It is a calming agent to hopefully help a bird mellow out a bit.

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

I would definitely go for organic just to be sure it is safe.

 

[Lobby]

Thank you for the info. I will look at Sunflower when we go there this weekend. After looking at the ingredients in the Sleepytime tea I was pretty sure I knew the answer already.

 

[Big Blues]

I get the Stash organic Chamomile herbal tea from Whole Foods.

 

[BraveheartDogs]

I use Tetley Lemon Chamomile Tea. The tea is not used to stop plucking. It is a calming agent to hopefully help a bird mellow out a bit.

Do you just make it like normal and then let it cool and serve it in place of water?

 

[Cory]

I researched Chamomile Tea a little bit and this is what I found:

From the book "Holistic Care for Birds - A Manual of Wellness and Healing" by David McCluggage, DVM and Pamela Leis Hidgon:

"Camomilla

Camomilla is one of our remedies for feather pluckers. (Actually, there are more than 50 remedies that might work.) It is also used for anger and irritability that have been suppressed for a long time. Macaws might fit this pattern, as do many Amazon Parrots. Chamomilla soothes and calms. It is often most effective at very low potencies to start with (perhaps 6X). If it is successful, you can increase the potency dramatically over time."

I want to try giving Chamomile Tea to some of my birds. Riley, Rocky, and Tyson specifically. I'll pick some up at the organic food store in a few hours. I have a few questions since I don't drink tea, have never made tea, and basically don't know anything about it.

1. How do you make tea? (Sorry )

2. How would you make the 6X potency mentioned above?

3. How do you normally give it to your birds?

4. Do you see a calming effect right away or does it build up over time?


I'm actually pretty excited to try it!

 

[Macawlvr]

I make mine by heating the cup of water in the microwave for a couple of minutes.
Then I drop the tea bag in..dip the tea bag up and down a few times to make sure it is soaked through.
Then 'cover' the cup and go do something else for around 10 minutes or so to let it steep and cool some.

Then I come back, uncover it, dip the tea bag up and down a few times, then I squeeze the water out of the tea bag with my fingers.
'Let it cool'. 'Make sure' the temperature of the tea is no more than a 100 degrees...anything around 110 or more will burn their crop.

6X the potency...use six tea bags instead of one. I would start out with one and then work my way up to that number if that's what you want to do.

In the beginning, I sat down with my birds and acted like I was drinking it too...oohing and awing about how good it was. They still make the sounds when they drink it.
After I got them used to drinking it, I just put it in their water bowl after it cools down.

The effect is pretty immediate but the change in them is nothing drastic.

 

[JLcribber]

The effect is pretty immediate but the change in them is nothing drastic.

That's what I see too.

 

[Cory]

Thank you both so much for your input!

It's funny how the book refers to the "6X" as a "very low" potency. It doesn't seem like it to me after reading what you wrote James. Maybe they meant 6X diluted?

 

[Amaterasu]

I definitely need to try this. Sometimes Gus is really moody and she's also a feather chewer.

 

[Macawlvr]

Thank you both so much for your input!

It's funny how the book refers to the "6X" as a "very low" potency. It doesn't seem like it to me after reading what you wrote James. Maybe they meant 6X diluted?

Oh, ho ho, silly me, I didn't notice the 'low' word...so you're probably right. Heck, I would give it full strength then, just like the directions on the tea bag box. I started mine out that way with no problem whatsoever. My birds are large macaws so I guess take that into consideration.

The only times I have used it is with my B&G macaw pair cuz' the female goes to picking at her feathers when she is very hormonal.

 

[Cory]

Oh, ho ho, silly me, I didn't notice the 'low' word...so you're probably right. Heck, I would give it full strength then, just like the directions on the tea bag box. I started mine out that way with no problem whatsoever. My birds are large macaws so I guess take that into consideration.

The only times I have used it is with my B&G macaw pair cuz' the female goes to picking at her feathers when she is very hormonal.

I just bought some so I'll try it out and see how it goes!

 

[Lobby]

It does seem to be a strange way of putting it. Could it be scientific notation? 6X meaning 1 part tea to 6 parts water. That would be low potency.

 

[luvconique]

I am an absolute FAN of chamomille!

My little guys like it fine, but my caique- OMG you'd think he was in heaven! He literally made moaning and cooing and slurping sounds.

I would give it nice and warm in the evenings, or before a car trip to the vet.

I also add chamomille flower and other herbs to my seed mix.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Ive tried the tea on my birds a couple times.. I love it myself.

But I have tried the flower and buds on my birds in their birdie bread and in their mash mix, and they seem to enjoy it

 

[Irina]

Hi everyone, sorry to interrupt like this. I never actually post anything, but mostly doing the reading o the forum, it is great, lots of useful info! I just couldn't go past this one though without replying, as a big mistake could have happened.
by 6x Dr Mcluggage means the dosage of the homeopathic remedy called Chamomile as far as I understand and not chamomile teabags. Homeopathic remedies come in different potencies in the form of tiny little balls/pills and they are quite different to the pure herb. So it is definitely not 6 teabags brewed in one cup.
Chamomile does have a calming effect, and I often give it to my feather-plucking TAG, who loves it when it is slightly warm. I usually steep one teabag in a cup of freshly boiled water for about 3-5 minutes, let it cool. and then dilute it by half and give it to him that way.
Hope it helps

 

[justwingingit]

I have been a long time supporter of chamomile tea. As we know, Greys can be very "internal" creatures. When I found Simon stressing, the tea did the trick. I looked for one with no caffeine. I make a large teapot of it, steep about 4-5 bags until it is very dark. Once it has cooled, I put it in the refrigerator and them dilute with with warm water to make room temperature. Some birds won't drink water that is that dark, unless they do it themselves. Anyway, I have seen the calming effects it has. I'm glad there are things that are good and natural that we can use on our feathered babies.www.justwingingitinc.com

 

[Compassion]

Does anyone know the correct amount of dried flower to add to 4 lb of seed?