I have a chicken with bumblefoot and I keep reading about how successful people are at healing it with drawing salves. So for ages I've been meaning to make one and the one which comes up when you search recipes is the black drawing salve.
This is just an account of my first experience making a black salve and should not be taken as medical advice.
The first thing I had to do was make an infused oil from herbs. Calendula seemed to be the one that came up most, but other suggested mixtures also included plantain and comfrey. I didn't have either of the second two at all, so I went with harvesting the few calendula flower heads I had and a friend helped me out with some more.
Once the petals were dried I put them in a jar and covered them in olive oil, then left the jar by the wood burner for a couple of weeks to infuse at a warm temperature.
The recipes usually say activated charcoal, but rather than purchase it I went the old fashioned way and retrieved plain charcoal from the wood burner and crushed it. I didn't have sodium chloride to activate it and wanted to keep it as simple and natural as possible anyway. Activated charcoal is a purer, cleaner form of carbon which is superior, but charcoal should still work. I'm pretty sure they didn't activate it hundreds of years ago, anyway.
The ingredient lists were pretty similar across the board and some included Shea butter, which I don't have. So I decided to go ahead and try it without it. I think it probably helps to stop the ingredients from separating as the mixture cools. I ended up trying to speed the cooling process to keep the dry ingredients from dropping straight to the bottom. In order to make up for the missing Shea butter I also upped the coconut and calendula oil, as the first time around the salve was too hard to be useful.
Ingredients:
• 4 Tablespoons calendula infused olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 Tablespoons Beeswax
• 1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil
• 2 Tablespoons Charcoal Powder
• 2 Tablespoons bentonite clay
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 20 drops (or more) Lavender Essential Oil
I created a double boiler by putting a glass bowl over a saucepan of water. In the bowl I melted all the oils, honey and beeswax together.
The honey tended to remain separate to the rest of the mixture, which I'm guessing is down to it being water based.
Then I mixed in the charcoal and clay.
The clay liked to clump on the bottom, but the charcoal mixed in well.
Then into a jar to let it cool and set.
Aside from the bumblefoot I'm planning to use it on, black drawing salve is used for disinfecting wounds and drawing out things like infections or splinters. I couldn't say if it works as I've yet to try it. My chicken is going to be the test subject, although, to be honest, she's already improving from having it cleaned, the infection lumps removed and hemp oil applied. So this will be more to see if it finally clears those last bits of infection out and heals the scabs.
If we have a look at the ingredients, we should be able to work out their purposes. The bentonite clay and charcoal should provide the drawing action. They have been used for years for cleansing and counteracting toxins.
The infused oil should carry the properties of the herb/s used in it. Calendula is said to have antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. I wonder if oregano could also be used, as it is also often used as an antiseptic. Calendula may be more soothing, however. Other plants people use are plantain, comfrey and St. John's Wort.
Honey is likely there for antiseptic use too. Generally, only raw honey has this property, so hopefully the heating process didn't damage it. I probably would leave this out next time anyway.
Beeswax thickens the salve, making it more of an ointment than an oil.
The lavender essential oil is likely there to add a pleasant odour, but it is also said to have antiseptic/antibacterial properties. Other possible essential oils to use are clove and rosemary.
Vitamin E is a natural preservative for oil based compounds.
My hen, Aphrodite, has had her first application of the salve tonight, so we'll see how she goes. The recommendation is to apply it liberally and cover it for a the day or overnight to allow the ingredients to do their thing.