comfrey udder salve

My first freshener Dirty Socks delivered a single healthy buckling a few days ago without complications, yay! Unfortunately, I did not realize she was producing way more milk than needed and the little buckling was only nursing one side... She is a daughter of Thirteen, my main milker for years who would get so much milk that the teats would be too big for newborns to suckle, so I guess I should have checked...

I did check the buckling latched on successfully, that I learned from Thirteen, but I did not check to make sure both udder halves were used... so now Socks has a hardened right udder, which can mean many things including plain and simple backup, edema, mastitis or even CAE. For the past two days I used hot towels, massage, hand milking and even taped up the other teat to have the buckling help suck out the blockage during the day, all to no prevail...

So I went on the internet and came up with a couple of udder salve recipes, based on products and recipes listed below. I made two versions, one a short but hot au-bain-marie infusion of dried comfrey leaves into sweet almond oil, and one a long term cold infusion of fresh comfrey leaves in olive oil. I went down to Wegmans to pick up the EO's needed, Greenstar is closed as it is easter, gosh darn it :)

Version One:
dried comfrey leaves, as much as will be covered by oils
4 oz sweet almond oil
1 oz shea butter
1 oz bees wax
1 tbs natural menthol crystals
2 tsp natural vitamin E
10 drops Peppermint EO
10 drops Tea Tree EO
10 drops Lavender EO
10 drops Eucalyptus EO
10 drops Frankincense EO
5 drops Helichrysum EO

heat up oils au-bain-marie with dried comfrey leaves, cover and simmer for 3-4 hours until the oils turn dark green. filter out the leaves (it's smart to measure after filtering, I did before and lost about 2 oz of bulk)
add grated beeswax and heat back up in au-bain-marie
when everything is liquid add crystals, menthol and EO's, stir well and cool down.
this made about 6oz of salve.

Why these EO's?
Peppermint oil applied to the skin can cause surface warmth, which relieves pain beneath the skin.
Tea tree oil may kill bacteria and fungus, and reduce allergic skin reactions.

Lavender for soothing and inflammation.
Eucalyptus oil contains chemicals that might help pain and inflammation.
Frankincense to promote cell renewal and reduce edema.
Helichrysum because it promotes healing, cell renewal, and regeneration.




(Next time at Greenstar I'll get some Melaleuca for anti-microbial properties to add as well)

Version Two:
3 oz comfrey infused olive oil
1 oz shea butter
1 oz coconut oil
1/2 oz bees wax
1 tbs natural menthol crystals
2 tsp natural vitamin E
15 drops Peppermint EO
15 drops Tea Tree EO
15 drops Lavender EO
15 drops Eucalyptus EO
15 drops Frankincense EO
15 drops Helichrysum EO

 Heat oils, shea butter and bees wax au-bain-marie
when liquid add Vit E, menthol and EO's
stir well, makes about 8 oz


http://fiascofarm.com/herbs/oils.htm#masalve

http://www.flipflopbarnyard.com/critters/homemade-udder-balm/

http://slowlivingessentials.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/comfrey-ointment.html

http://experimentalhomesteader.com/ah/2013/06/10/mastitis-udder-massage-salve/2/

http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2011/11/diy-homemade-udder-balm.html