(Excerpt from the Essentialbird  yahoo group)

Many of you may remember that my Princess of Wales, Monkey, injured her foot many months ago. One of her back toes was flopping forward and she had no control over it so could not walk easily. The vet thought it was a ligament/tendon injury and would or would not heal over time. She was in a bandage for a few weeks, but this did not work. Next I used solomon’s seal root tincture externally and internally and this gave her the ability to put the toe forward.

After a month or two on the solomon’s seal, it stopped working, just like that. Monk was better and was able to keep her toe in the normal position about 70 percent of the time. But then she began having episodes where she would re-injure the foot and the toe would flop under again to where she could not control it. The solomon’s seal had no effect at this stage.

I consulted with another vet who was very helpful and suggested I work on nerve damage and inflammation. After numerous experiments, I came up with a winning combination of boswellia (frankincense) powder taken internally (this is an anti-inflammatory) and an AMAZING herbal blend called “Back Spirits” from Healing Spirits Herb Farm in New York.  Andrea Reisen formulated this blend when her back gave out and she could no longer work in her herb fields. Apparently she had major back problems and this blend was developed over many years. I began using it for my back problems and found that I could suddenly do about 50% more activities than prior without developing back pain/spasms/attacks. The Back Spirits is a sophisticated blend of muscle/soft tissue/ligament/tendon repair herbs, anti-inflammatories, and muscle relaxants, as well as herbs to generate the minerals and nutrients needed for muscle, bone, tissue, ligament, and tendon restoration.

I use the boswellia three times daily by mixing a small amount of water into the powder, making a paste and syringing about twenty drops into Monk’s beak. This is followed by six drops of the Back Spirits. Monk is 115 grams. She readily accepts these medicines, and since I have been using them, she has been able to use her foot normally and has not had any more regressions.

And, by accident, this formula has helped her feather plucking considerably!

Lainey Alexander

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, or by any veterinarian. All information, including any product or technique mentioned, is for educational purposes only. None of the information is intended to diagnose or treat any disease.