Cures, Quacks and Bone Setters

reilig · 04-09-2010 11:21PM #1

One hundred years ago there were no vets and no animal medicines. Animals still survived. Farms produced food. Sick animals got treatment and often recovered. People had home cures and treatments. So do any of you still use traditional treatments or know people who made them or used them in the past??

The old people around here used to give a shot of poteen to a calf that wouldn't suck. There was a bone setter locally who was able to put back animal's joints that were out and put casts on broken bones.

Another man, not far from here used to make a "bottle" for the treatment of Joint Ill or evil joint in calves and lambs. It was made from poteen amongst other things - well you could smell it anyway.

Caster oil was used for a lot of different animal treatments.

So what was in your area or in you family???? Do you think that its a pity that this heritage is lost?? There are some people that collect this information. I understand that Sean Boylan, the former meath football manager has collected a lot of information on various traditional treatments for humans. He is well known for his manufacturing of treatments which vairy from asthma treatments made from berries to treatment for migrane.

So go on, give us your stories, and whether they worked or not???

NOTE: Please, before anyone goes off on their own solo run about licensed or veterinary prescribed/approved products, this is NOT a thread that offers advice on alternative medicines nor does it advise anyone to use any treatment spoken about here.

LostCovey · 04-09-2010 11:36PM

reilig wrote: »

One hundred years ago there were no vets and no animal medicines.

......... in Leitrim.

whelan1 · 05-09-2010 09:23AM

have used the bone setter afewe times and have also rang for the cure for a heifer that wouldnt stop bleedeing , although when i was young and got really bad ring worm my parents never rang for the cure:rolleyes: just brought me to a few different specialists - lost my hair with ringworm when i was 8:mad:

blue5000 · 05-09-2010 10:10AM

Haven't tried it myself, but a neighbour uses a full jar of colemans mustard(orally) to cure calf scour.

Also locally there is a 7th son of a 7th son who cures shingles by rubbing his own blood on the affected area 3 times.

whelan1 · 05-09-2010 10:32AM

blue5000 wrote: »

Haven't tried it myself, but a neighbour uses a full jar of colemans mustard(orally) to cure calf scour.

Also locally there is a 7th son of a 7th son who cures shingles by rubbing his own blood on the affected area 3 times.

also heard on local radio the other day to have a mustard bath to bring on labour :eek: will never look at a mustard jar in the same way again

reilig · 05-09-2010 10:42AM

blue5000 wrote: »

Haven't tried it myself, but a neighbour uses a full jar of colemans mustard(orally) to cure calf scour.

Also locally there is a 7th son of a 7th son who cures shingles by rubbing his own blood on the affected area 3 times.

There's a pharmacist in Mayo that makes a bottle for calf scour. He says its a traditional cure. Its main ingredient is Tannin. He says that tannin is a popular agent for contracting the lower bowel to arrest scour. I don't know where he sources the tannin now, but years ago it was sourced from briar roots (that's according to the pharmacist).

pakalasa · 05-09-2010 10:44AM

Years ago, women that were breast-feeding would use cabbage leaves to treat sore nipples (dont laugh).
Well, years later they found that cabbage contain oestrogen, the female hormone.
So a lot of these cures, while some are useless, may well turn out to have a valid scientific explanation.;)

whelan1 · 05-09-2010 10:46AM

pakalasa wrote: »

Years ago, women that were breast-feeding would use cabbage leaves to treat sore nipples (dont laugh).
Well, years later they found that cabbage contain oestrogen, the female hormone.
So a lot of these cures, while some are useless, may well turn out to have a valid scientific explanation.;)

cabbage leaves are still used - believe me i know

pakalasa · 05-09-2010 10:47AM

whelan1 · 05-09-2010 10:47AM

also i always wondered who discovered that you put a dock leaf on a nettle sting to ease it

blue5000 · 05-09-2010 10:54AM

or who discovered to piss on a jellyfish sting?

snowman707 · 05-09-2010 11:01AM

I wonder how many cures were fact or fiction, I am a great believer of letting nature take it's course and it will correct it self, within reason of course ,

a few years ago I was suffering from headaches and noticed also my eyesight was deteriorating , optician prescribed reading glasses and recommended an full medical which i get a couple of time a years anyhow,

after a bit of research I got a pair of

http://www.jdharris.co.uk/pinhole-glasses?gclid=CP2_zZ7-76MCFd392Aod8EFs4g

while not back to 100% and I can now manage most task with the need of spectacles

We have had many discussions on different viruses here (orf, pneumonia) etc, and as far I see the general consensus is to pump antibiotics, vaccines, doses, and even 'needle' the cows to get them in heat. only vaccine I use is 10/1 blackleg, calves and lambs have 1 cheap worm dose, no trace of fluke in any livers at the abattoir.

were all the old cures so magical or was it just nature helping itself, it works wonders especially if you meet it half way.

whelan1 · 05-09-2010 12:16PM

blue5000 wrote: »

or who discovered to piss on a jellyfish sting?

same is supposed to be good for chilblains:rolleyes:
we often give the cows a jar of coffee as a pick me up

blue5000 · 05-09-2010 02:39PM

Has anyone heard of using strong black coffee as a cure for ragworth poisioning? I think the coffee/ caffiene acts as a stimulant and could save an animal if got in time. Come to think of it wouldn't red bull work as well?

C0N0R · 05-09-2010 02:56PM

blue5000 wrote: »

Has anyone heard of using strong black coffee as a cure for ragworth poisioning? I think the coffee/ caffiene acts as a stimulant and could save an animal if got in time. Come to think of it wouldn't red bull work as well?

Don't want the cow flying away now do we!

blue5000 · 05-09-2010 03:20PM

usually with ragworth poisioning the only place they fly to is 'the big slatted house in the sky'

whelan1 · 05-09-2010 03:41PM

blue5000 wrote: »

Has anyone heard of using strong black coffee as a cure for ragworth poisioning? I think the coffee/ caffiene acts as a stimulant and could save an animal if got in time. Come to think of it wouldn't red bull work as well?

tried it last year in large amounts didnt work , imo there is no cure for ragworth posioning:mad:

whelan1 · 05-09-2010 08:06PM

does any one feed ivy to sick animals?

Feargal as Luimneach · 05-09-2010 08:20PM

whelan1 wrote: »

does any one feed ivy to sick animals?

Used to stimulate appetite....

vincenzolorenzo · 05-09-2010 10:07PM

LostCovey wrote: »

......... in Leitrim.

There you go again LC, getting smart with a member who posted a genuine post. And you wonder why people are always on your case :rolleyes:

Username John · 06-09-2010 11:25AM

whelan1 wrote: »

does any one feed ivy to sick animals?

Hello,

Yep - would often feed ivy to a sick sheep, have found that if they dont eat anything else, they might often eat ivy. Elm used to be good as well, but this is gone now. Have also seen the same with ash (that sheep that have no interest in hay or ration, will eat ash leaves), but I dont know if this is recommended or not... so dont be running out cutting ash branches to feed to animals...

Always have a bottle of poteen around as well. We give it with a mixture of milk, glucose and an egg to any very weak animals... I think its good...

Have heard of a horse at home one time (years ago), that cut / grazed / tore its leg very badly slipping down a rock, and the leg woudln't cure. It was raw for a long time, no matter what it was washed with. Then, someone said to wash it in Epsom salts, and apparently it dryed it up and healed away. Not sure how many washes it got, but the epsom salts did the trick...

Also, remember hearing that at home long ago, when a horse would have very sore / raw shoulders after ploughing that they would rub the area with the inside of a strip of willow bark. I know this prob isnt useful to anyone now maybe, but said I'd mention it...

Bitten & Hisses · 06-09-2010 12:03PM

whelan1 wrote: »

we often give the cows a jar of coffee as a pick me up

The old vet (R.I.P.) who founded the practice we now use always gave this to animals who were bloated with trapped gas. Use a full jar of coffee and bottle them with it. Always worked a treat, but can you imagine how much caffiene the animal is getting?

whelan1 · 06-09-2010 12:07PM

Bitten & Hisses wrote: »

The old vet (R.I.P.) who founded the practice we now use always gave this to animals who were bloated with trapped gas. Use a full jar of coffee and bottle them with it. Always worked a treat, but can you imagine how much caffiene the animal is getting?

there was on offer on maxwell house in a local supermarket recently , i bought 24 jars;) the lady was saying god you're fond of coffee , she couldnt believe what i was using it for:D

Upstream · 06-09-2010 12:17PM

Have heard of a flask of warm tea for an bullock with a chill, if they'd been stuck in a ditch overnight. Some say it's more effective than the likes of poteen, to warm them up, without being hard on them.

Re giving cows coffee as a pick me up, does it flavour the milk? If it does you could settle the debate on whether to add the milk or the coffee first:D

Upstream · 06-09-2010 12:51PM

Username John wrote: »

Also, remember hearing that at home long ago, when a horse would have very sore / raw shoulders after ploughing that they would rub the area with the inside of a strip of willow bark. I know this prob isnt useful to anyone now maybe, but said I'd mention it...

People have used willow bark as a remedy for pain relief for thousands of years. For example it was a common cure for toothache. The active ingredient in willow bark is salicylic acid, which belongs to the same family of painkillers as Aspirin. When Aspirin was first maufactured, Willow bark was used to make the active ingredient in Aspirin.

whelan1 · 06-09-2010 12:52PM

normally if they are at the stage that they need coffee they wont be giving too much milk

and will probably be on antibiotics too.... does any one use the jeyes fluid as a kill or cure method , i used it twice and both animals died :mad:

bold_defender · 06-09-2010 12:56PM

Farmer beside us had a cure for coccidiosis, not sure what was in it, but seemed to work.
I remember as a young fella getting bags of brown sugar for a cure for red water but not sure what else went into it.
My aunt who died this year had the cure for the bleeding and my father often rang her when needed.
Also my mother had a cousin who had cures for all sorts of aliments of humans and animals.
As someone said already poteen and caster oil seem to be in lots of the cures. There are others I can't think of now but I'd say my father would know loads more.

reilig · 06-09-2010 01:05PM

bold_defender wrote: »

Farmer beside us had a cure for coccidiosis, not sure what was in it, but seemed to work.
I remember as a young fella getting bags of brown sugar for a cure for red water but not sure what else went into it.
My aunt who died this year had the cure for the bleeding and my father often rang her when needed.
Also my mother had a cousin who had cures for all sorts of aliments of humans and animals.
As someone said already poteen and caster oil seem to be in lots of the cures. There are others I can't think of now but I'd say my father would know loads more.

yea, i have a neighbour who makes a cure for a skin burn. Its made from butter that she churns herself and from some type of oil. It really eases the pain if you get a mild burn and prevents any blister (the most painful part of a burn I think).

Years ago, if you were skulling a cow or bullock and there was a lot of blood, they used to get a cobweb from the roof of a barn and put it over the blood flow which promoted clotting and kept any dirt out of the wound. Of course these days, a vet will inject the animal to take away the pain and will pluck the veins afterwards to prevent bleeding.

whelan1 · 06-09-2010 01:08PM

was thinking there wont be to many 7th sons of a seventh son around in years to come , not many families are that big these days , wonder is there pressure on a 7th son to have 7 sons iykwim;)

Username John · 06-09-2010 01:16PM

bold_defender wrote: »

I remember as a young fella getting bags of brown sugar for a cure for red water but not sure what else went into it.

Was it equal amount of sugar, plus an equal amount of salt mixed into water? Not sure exactly what amount, but from what I remember, it was measured in cup fulls...

reilig · 06-09-2010 01:23PM

Username John wrote: »

Was it equal amount of sugar, plus an equal amount of salt mixed into water? Not sure exactly what amount, but from what I remember, it was measured in cup fulls...

Salt for a thirst and sugar for energy. 2 of the things the animal needed to survive (Fluids and energy).
Around here they often gave a blood transfusion to a cow if she had lost a lot of blood through red water. They'd get the blood from the local butcher. Do they still do that??

Cures, Quacks and Bone Setters

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