Aussie Finch Forum

Hi all,
I saw a post recently on a forum for comfrey cuttings. Has anyone had expereince with comfry in terms of feeding it to finches/quail etc. I am wondering have there been any adverse reactions to long term feeding etc, NB I say long term feeding as part of the green feed regime, not exclusive feeding. As a medicinal herb it was once consumed (humans) as a very good health tonic for bone knitting etc - then it was ponted out in around the mid 80's when it was baned by the NHMRC that the active constituents were shown to act as hepatoxics and purported to be a carcinogen and mutagen when consumed orally. I know birds are differnt to humans but hope that some of the long time breeders may be able to bring their experience to the light of day, maybe Danny or Myzo from a vet perspective.

All I can tell you about comfrey is it grew like a weed in the UK so it might need to be contained in a pot over here.

I've fed it to finches many times & know of plenty of instances where Comfrey was planted in finch aviaries & regularly picked at. Supposed to be rich in organic minerals & many vitamins.

It's a bit unfair but tempting to direct questions like this to the veterinarians that lurk within AFF. Very few people trained in conventional medicine are trained in so-called natural therapies. I think it's tempting for many of us to think we are doing good because they favour organic, herbal or natural medicines over conventional treatments but the reality is most have not been adequately studied. Certainly many conventional medicines come from nature but we purchase them them they have undergone rigorous testing for efficacy, side effects and consistency. If you grow herbs you really don't know what level of expression of the active component/s is there and if you aren't familiar with the plant you may not even be feeding the correct part. I'm not saying that herbal treatments can't be effective but I will assert that they are often inconsistent because the user doesn't have the knowledge or tools to assure themselves that the correct dose is even being administered. If you search the web you'll find plenty about organic chicken production but the number one thing they rely on is strict quarantine to prevent diseases because their available pharmacopeia is just not as effective as the conventional treatments. Without doubt their preventative protocols are definitely worth investigating but homeopathic involving the "potentiation" (extreme dilution) of gizzard worm ash isn't worth a crock in my opinion. If you want you could investigate say the anthelmintic (anti-worm) properties of herbs as there are numerous ones alleged to be effective but you'd be brave indeed feeding a tea made of indian oleander to your birds. It's well known that "The dose makes the poison" but how do you tell exactly that point between cure and kill when you the only tool you have is the precious birds you are trying to treat? Others on AFF my know of safer examples than the one I've given but in the end knowledge like that has to be won the hard way - involving losses from the disease or the potential treatments.

There are a few different varieties of Comfrey. As a part of a varied green feed diet it is a valuable green food nutritionally based on its nutrient content compared to many other common green foods. Its furry leaf texture does make it relatively unpalatable to some species & you'll certainly get far greater uptake by a wider range of species with soft-leafed greens such as bok choy or chicory. Wouldn't have a clue about any medicinal value of it as a natural medicine & don't really care as I'm more interested in its food value.
I think the Russian variety was regarded as having some harmful effect if overconsumed & I've seen recommendations that pregnant women don't binge eat Russian Comfrey. I wouldn't be deterred from adding the odd comfrey leaf to a mixed green offering to finches though.

I use to use it for the Red Factors when I was breeding them, never had any problems that I can recall.