Honeysuckle can prevent and treat poultry and livestock diseases, making it a valuable medicine for farming
Honeysuckle, also known as silver flower or Japanese honeysuckle flower, is the flower bud of Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), a perennial semi-evergreen climbing vine of the Caprifoliaceae family. Honeysuckle is distributed throughout China, especially common in the south, and is now also cultivated artificially, with significant economic benefits, making it a path to wealth. It is mainly produced in Guangxi, Guangdong and Henan provinces and autonomous regions. From March to July each year, flower buds that are about to open are picked in the early morning and dried in the sun for later use.
Every part of the honeysuckle is a treasure; it is a rare traditional Chinese medicine. At the same time, it is also a good medicine for preventing and treating poultry and livestock diseases.
1. Chicken diseases
1. Chicken inclusion body hepatitis. Symptoms: This disease is characterized by severe anemia in affected chickens, jaundice, and a sudden increase in mortality. Affected chickens in good body condition generally show no clinical symptoms but suddenly die. Some affected chickens show listlessness, ruffled feathers, and feces stuck around the vent. The comb and wattles are pale, and some affected chickens also show a drowsy state.
Key diagnostic points: If chickens aged 5-10 weeks are affected, and the number of sudden deaths in the flock continues to increase, with the mortality rate rising from 2% to about 10%, and the high mortality period lasting about half a month. At the same time, affected chickens show bleeding or anemia symptoms. At this point, this disease should be considered.
Prevention and treatment measures: Currently, there is no specific method for this disease, but treatment with Chinese herbal medicine can be considered. (1) Honeysuckle 50 g, Isatis root 50 g, Scutellaria baicalensis 20 g, Pulsatilla chinensis 50 g, wild chrysanthemum 50 g, sugarcane leaf 50 g. 1 dose per day, decocted in water for feeding (the above is the dosage for 100 chickens). (2) Honeysuckle 50 g, Isatis leaf 50 g, Scutellaria baicalensis 20 g, Phellodendron 20 g, Gardenia jasminoides 50 g, hawthorn 50 g, Alisma orientale 30 g. 1 dose per day, decocted in water and mixed with feed (the above is the dosage for 100 chickens).
2. Pig diseases
1. Pig gastroenteritis: Mostly caused by eating moldy, unclean, toxic, and already rotten and spoiled feed.
Its manifestations are: persistent diarrhea, discharging watery material, blood in the stool; in severe cases, the abdomen may cause rolling around due to severe pain; body temperature may not be elevated and appears normal, but some may have fever. In the later stage, watery diarrhea does not stop, the limbs become cold, body temperature drops, and the animal becomes exhausted and may even die.
Honeysuckle 50 g, prickly amaranth 100 g, purslane 100 g, plantain herb 50 g, Andrographis paniculata 50 g, Pulsatilla chinensis 50 g can be used. All should be fresh and tender, decocted in water for feeding.
2. Nitrite poisoning: Also called swill poisoning. It is mainly caused by eating green vegetable feed that has been piled up, heated, and moldy, such as radish leaves, Swiss chard, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, water spinach, etc. Or it occurs when the feed is simmered over a slow fire for a long time and, after being cooked, is piled into a vat. At this point, the nitrate in the green feed is reduced to highly toxic nitrite. When pigs eat it, poisoning occurs.
Symptoms: Sudden onset, restlessness, possible abdominal pain and crying out, salivation with white foam at the mouth, nausea and vomiting, accelerated breathing; the conjunctiva, oral and nasal mucosa, and skin are initially pale, then turn blue-purple. Weak limbs. Unsteady standing, difficulty breathing, and finally coma and death. For mild cases, take appropriate amounts of honeysuckle, licorice, and mung bean, boil in water, add an appropriate amount of white sugar, and administer by gavage.
3. Cattle diseases
1. Bovine influenza, also known as epidemic fever, abbreviated as flu. It is an acute, febrile, and systemic disease of dairy cattle, beef cattle, and water buffalo.
Symptoms: After an incubation period of 2-3 days, the bovine influenza virus causes sudden onset of disease and spreads rapidly to the entire herd and even the whole pastoral area.
The body temperature of affected cattle can rise above 40°C, remaining elevated for 1-3 days. Skin temperature is uneven, the animal is listless, stops eating, stops ruminating, has rough hair, decreased milk production, local muscle tremors, and accelerated heartbeat at 120 beats per minute. The conjunctiva is congested, edematous, and tearing; the nasal mucosa is congested with serous nasal discharge; the neck is extended with the mouth open, and breathing is rapid at 40-100 breaths per minute, causing pulmonary emphysema that leads to rupture of the mediastinum, allowing gas to spread to the shoulder, loin, and rump muscle fascia, forming subcutaneous emphysema. Initially, the feces are dry; in severe enteritis, there is watery diarrhea mixed with mucus and blood. After onset, following 3-5 days of treatment, recovery can be rapid, but in the initial peracute process, death from suffocation often occurs.
(1) Prevention: The epidemiology of this disease is still unclear in many aspects, so comprehensive preventive measures should be taken. After an outbreak occurs, affected cattle should be isolated promptly, and strict lockdown and disinfection should be carried out, eliminating blood-sucking insects such as ants and flies, which can effectively control the outbreak. The following Chinese herbal medicines can also be decocted in water and fed to cattle. Use honeysuckle 20 g, Isatis root 20 g, eucalyptus leaf 20 g, sweet wormwood 20 g, raw licorice 10 g. 1 dose per day, decocted in water.
(2) Treatment: (1) At the initial stage. Honeysuckle 20 g, Isatis root 20 g, Pulsatilla chinensis 20 g, ash bark 15 g, prickly amaranth 30 g, Phellodendron 15 g. 1 dose per day, decocted in water, or mixed with feed for feeding. (2) After onset: Honeysuckle 20 g, Bupleurum 15 g, Codonopsis pilosula 15 g, Cyperus rotundus 15 g, Poria cocos 20 g, Cimicifuga 15 g, kudzu root 30 g, Chinese yam 30 g, green tangerine peel 15 g, licorice 8 g. 1 dose per day, decocted in water, or mixed with feed for feeding.
2. Stomatitis. Stomatitis is an inflammation of the oral mucosa in cattle. Due to differences in the degree of pathogen action and pathological conditions, it can be divided into catarrhal stomatitis, vesicular stomatitis, and ulcerative stomatitis.
Symptoms: (1) Catarrhal stomatitis: The oral mucosa is hypersensitive, eating and chewing are slow, and feed mixed with mucus often flows out along the corners of the mouth. The oral mucosa is congested, swollen, and hot. The tongue surface often has a grayish-white coating, and foul breath is emitted from the mouth.
(2) Vesicular stomatitis. In addition to the symptoms of catarrhal stomatitis, the mucosa of the lips, tongue, and palate of affected cattle all have vesicles the size of millet grains to soybeans. The vesicles are filled with transparent, slightly yellow liquid. When the vesicles rupture, irregular-edged bright red ulcers can form, saliva flows from the mouth, and food intake noticeably decreases.
(3) Ulcerative stomatitis. In the early stage in affected cattle, the mucosa of the gums, dorsum of the tongue, cheeks, and lips is congested and swollen, then becomes eroded, necrotic, or forms ulcers. The gums bleed easily, and the mouth discharges gray, foul-smelling saliva. The mandibular lymph nodes and salivary glands are mildly swollen.
Diagnosis: Based on oral congestion, swelling, salivation, and foul odor, a diagnosis of catarrhal stomatitis can be made. If there are vesicles in the oral cavity, a diagnosis of vesicular stomatitis can be made.
Treatment: (1) Honeysuckle 20 g, Isatis leaf 20 g, wild chrysanthemum 20 g, dandelion 20 g, Viola mandshurica 20 g, Senecio scandens 50 g. 1 dose per day, decocted in water for oral administration. (2) Honeysuckle 50 g, Senecio scandens 50 g, Rubus xanthocarpus 50 g, Isatis leaf 50 g, wood sorrel (Oxalis corniculata) 100 g. 1 dose per day, decocted in water, and used hot to wash the affected area externally. (3) Qingdai powder (Indigo naturalis 10 g, Coptis chinensis 8 g, Phellodendron 8 g, mint 5 g, Platycodon grandiflorus 15 g, catechu 10 g; grind together into a fine powder, put into a cloth bag, moisten with hot water, and hold in the mouth. Remove when eating grass, then put it back on after eating), replace once daily.
4. Sheep diseases
Necrobacillosis: This disease is caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum. After sheep are affected, it often attacks the hooves, so it is called foot rot. In addition, there are cases that attack the liver and lungs, also known as liver-lung necrobacillosis. It is prevalent in most areas. It often occurs in low-lying wet areas or during the rainy season, in pastures or pens that are muddy and crowded, and in places where herding paths are rugged and overgrown with thorns. It invades through wounds in the skin or mucosa, especially wounds on the hooves, which are more serious. The incubation period of this disease is as short as a few hours and as long as up to two weeks, and it mostly attacks the hooves of the four limbs. The main symptoms are lameness due to damage to the hooves of the forelimbs; the hindlimbs arch the back and take small steps, or the animal does not dare to walk or stand; the interdigital area, coronary band, and heel of the hoof are red, swollen, hot, and painful; in severe cases, they ulcerate and discharge foul-smelling pus, and the ulcer surface is covered with a thick scab and extends deeper.
Prevention and treatment measures: If a large number of cases occur, a foot bath trough should be set up, filled with Chinese herbal medicine liquid: honeysuckle 50 g, Senecio scandens 100 g, wild chrysanthemum 100 g, Viola mandshurica 100 g, dandelion 100 g. Decoct in water and put into the trough, let the affected sheep soak and wash, wash off mud and feces, remove necrotic tissue, then apply Yinhua powder, namely honeysuckle 100 g, Scutellaria baicalensis, Phellodendron, Indigo naturalis, and dried alum 50 g each, ground together into powder (if there is swelling and suppuration in the lungs, incise to drain the pus, then apply the medicine and bandage), change the dressing once daily.
For this disease, preventive measures should also be taken. Normally, the sheep pen should be kept clean and hygienic. When grazing, low-lying, humid, and thorn-overgrown areas should be avoided to prevent stabs and cuts to sheep hooves that could cause this disease, and sheep hooves should be trimmed regularly.