Allergic to my chickens

[Ingrid_Grace]

I think I'm either allergic to my chickens or the bedding I'm using for them recently every time I hold my adult chickens or my baby chickens I get congested and sneezy. I also get this way when I'm cleaning in the coop or brooder. Today was the worst It's ever been as I did a deep clean on the brooder I have setup right now. I'm going to look into trying out a new bedding but if I am allergic to my chickens I guess that's just my life now because nothing is making me get rid of my besties.

Anybody else had to deal with this? the bedding I use is the TSC flake flake pine shavings. (unscented)

 

[Nym]

Please a wear a good fitting dusk mask while handling the bedding. Your body is telling you something andIMO it's imporatnt to listen.You could try the pellet bedding and see if that makes a difference. You can also try drinking water to help flush the histamines from your system. Allergies are horrible ..

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Allergies are no fun. I'm developing an allergy to my cat, whom I love. Every morning I put my pillow in a drawer to keep cat hair off of it and I toss a throw blanket over the top part of my bed to keep hair and dander off the bed where my face is going to be. One day I didn't and I caught her blatantly sitting right there! Some nights I have to get up and take a benadryl so I can breathe. And she loves to come and sit right in my face. Why?!? She does not do this to my DH! Like you with your chickens, I would not consider getting rid of her ... but I will do whatever I can to keep from getting sick.

 

[Squawkers]

That’s awful! I’m sorry! I definitely think wearing a dusk mask or respirator is a really good idea for when you are cleaning coops or brooders.

 

[Nym]

Allergies are no fun. I'm developing an allergy to my cat, whom I love. Every morning I put my pillow in a drawer to keep cat hair off of it and I toss a throw blanket over the top part of my bed to keep hair and dander off the bed where my face is going to be. One day I didn't and I caught her blatantly sitting right there! Some nights I have to get up and take a benadryl so I can breathe. And she loves to come and sit right in my face. Why?!? She does not do this to my DH! Like you with your chickens, I would not consider getting rid of her ... but I will do whatever I can to keep from getting sick.

I grew up with asthma .. and having cats never helped. Iwas hospitalised many times, so the one wanting to sleep on my bed was trained to sit on a small blanket on the foot of the bed. Each time she started grooming and scratching I would move my legs around until she was forced off the bed. After a few weeks of this she would come in, sit on the floor to do her grooming, then get up on the bed for a final few licks before settling down on her blanket.