# Are Alfalfa Seeds Safe?



## AlicjanPip (Jun 19, 2013)

Or any other form of alfalfa? Such as tablet form, etc?
I just read its high in vitamin K which is what my pigeon's severely lacking.
Thankyou


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## Crazy Pete (Nov 13, 2008)

Well if you go to McLaughlin Lofts web site then to his secrets, secret 4 he says to use rabbit pellets along with the food and to use the pellets with the first ingredient being alfalfa.
Dave


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## hamlet (Oct 26, 2004)

Hello. Alfalfa sprouts sounds great. Fresh ones also. I am sure the seeds are good also. Many pigeons have lived on farms where alfalfa grows. Alfalfa pellets for rabbits have lots of certain mineral like sodium(?) which needs to be looked into first. 
Vitamin k deficiency sounds like they may be getting into rat poison at low doses?


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## AlicjanPip (Jun 19, 2013)

hamlet said:


> Hello. Alfalfa sprouts sounds great. Fresh ones also. I am sure the seeds are good also. Many pigeons have lived on farms where alfalfa grows. Alfalfa pellets for rabbits have lots of certain mineral like sodium(?) which needs to be looked into first.
> Vitamin k deficiency sounds like they may be getting into rat poison at low doses?


Hi  thankyou both for replying!

Crazy Pete, yes I read that article a while back, but scratched my head over the rabbit food. Didn't know what to think of this back then, but just might look further into this pellet business now. My birds refuse to munch on greens. I stuck a spinach leaf in, and my male thought my hand was a bird and the spinach I was holding, was my fanned tail. He took zero bites, and launched straight into courting. Sigh.

Hamlet, so just the normal alfalfa seeds I sprinkle on wet cotton wool so they sprout, will be okay to feed???? Is there a dosage limit?
I have alfalfa tablets, human tablets...I'm thinking maybe breaking off the tiniest of pieces and crushing it????
The vitamin k deficiency is liver related/overuse of antibiotics/digestion issues. My male bird has high ph levels, gas filled intestines (gas from crop to cloaca) with staph/strep recurring. His breathing is compromised due to the swelling of intestines. My female has pancreatitis, and is also having breathing troubles plus popping. I am giving them 2-3 milk thistle seeds a day, and about 3-4 dandelion stalk pieces (each about 5mm long) daily. Got them on fennel seed tea for the gas. The vitamin k deficiency is making it hard for my male to clot. Vet couldnt even take blood.

Have you heard of gas filled intestines before and blood clotting issues?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

AlicjanPip said:


> Or any other form of alfalfa? Such as tablet form, etc?
> I just read its high in vitamin K which is what my pigeon's severely lacking.
> Thankyou


I have given alfalfa tablets (human grade) to my birds, I usually break them up in pieces and gently slide down the throat.


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## hamlet (Oct 26, 2004)

Hello. Have you given a probiotic to your ill birds. I am not sure if it would help or worsen the bloating issue. Maybe soak the seeds so the gas comes out of them making them more digestible. Is your pigeon loosing weight? If so, soak the peanuts in water so they do not snap when cutting with a knife: 1-2 hours might do it. Cut it up and either force feed it or let it eat. 
You need to do a sprouting search on the net for alfalfa. Maybe soak them in water overnight then drain and let stand in the container covered lightly and rinsed until they sprout. 
Do you mean difficulty pooping? How old is your bird? Thanks and good luck.


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## AlicjanPip (Jun 19, 2013)

Thanks Skyeking  I do have some alfalfa tablets at home...

Hamlet, thankyou for your reply  I do have a probiotic - PROBAC by Dr Colin Walker -, but I don't know...maybe its just bad coincidence or something, but the last 5 times we began using it, 2 or 3 days later, our birds have got 'ill'...not sure what's going on when it comes to that PROBAC. Is it possible that the Streptococcus/Ecoli in probiotics affects really weak birds negatively???? Or its a very faulty tub of PROBAC we have have with the bacteria?

In the last week, I've been alternating the following:
- fennel tea
- Dr Colin Walker's Herb Tonic
(this has Grapefruit seed extract, 12 mg/ml, Dandelion extract, 12 mg/ml, Milk thistle extract, 12 mg/ml, Echinacea extract, 24 mg/ml with added chlorophyll, wheat grass powder and Spirulina in a lactulose base in it)
- Dr Rob Marshall's Inca Honey
- And today for one drinking, diluted carrot juice

Yesterday morning I got panicked because while feeding my bird, I noticed what appeared to be a 'roundworm' on my lap. His appetite has been awful yesterday and today. His poops have also been off, green with white top. Some are soild, some a little wet. We've been force feeding him to about 50% crop full. He struggles like crazy.
Behaviourally, he is almost 'normal'. Just beginning to make a nest again with his mate, so very hormonally charged and protective. I am really worried about the lack of appetite and green poops. Could this be worm related? He may be a little hunched, rump slightly elevated, tail lower, in posture, but its very slight a change.

The breathing has bettered itself, like maybe the gas has been leaving???? I don't know what to think. Could this appetite/poop change be due to the detoxing he is being put through?

Why does a worm show up prior to worming treatment? I've started on S76 (ivermectin and slippery elm) but I don't know if he will actually be drinking the right amount.

I have Moxidectin Plus on hand. It got delivered today in 30+ degree heat (whole bottle was boiling on arrival, could it have spoilt the MOxidectin?). Somewhat scared to use it, sounds heavy duty. Can cause coma in animals with allergies :/

What do you think of it all?


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## hamlet (Oct 26, 2004)

Hello. 

to Alicjanpip: I found out that cumin seed does good for getting rid of gas in people, maybe it is like your fennel tea.


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