Pashu Āyurveda: the tradition of animal care
What Indian ethno-veterinary practice uses for common troubles in cattle, with the source of each named — set beside modern veterinary care, never in its place.
Why set the tradition down carefully
Antibiotics are needed, and overused; the tradition is real, and unevenly written down. This page keeps one rule between the two.
Antibiotics have a cost
A cow given antibiotics has her milk held back until the drug has cleared, and their overuse in animals adds to antimicrobial resistance. Antibiotics are still needed: they belong where a veterinarian prescribes them.
Old, and unevenly written down
India's written veterinary tradition is old — Śālihotra on horses, Pālakāpya's Hastyāyurveda on elephants. For cattle, most of what farmers use survives as living practice, which the National Dairy Development Board and others have documented.
A reference, not advice
It sets out what the practice uses and where each comes from. It gives no doses and makes no claim that any preparation works.
What the practice uses
Ingredients and how they are traditionally applied, with the source of each. There are no doses and no treatment instructions here: this is not veterinary advice, and an animal that is ill needs a veterinarian.
Swelling and heat in the udder (mastitis)
- Aloe vera (ghṛtakumārī), fresh leaf
- Turmeric (haridrā), powdered
- Lime (chūnā), the kind eaten with betel
Traditionally ground together into a paste and spread over the affected part of the udder.
Ticks and lice
- Neem (nimba), leaves or seed oil
- Sweet flag (vacā), rhizome
Cuts and small wounds
- Turmeric (haridrā), powdered
- Neem (nimba) oil
Animal health on the shop
Feed supplements and animal-health products are listed on the shop by their sellers, each on its own product page. Ojas Agriculture runs no production laboratory.