Allergic to my chickens

[GracePoultry]

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.

 

[AGeese]

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)

You have environmental allergies like me. You're allergic to the dust in the flake, and the dander and dust from your bird's feathers. Put it altogether and you have a recipe for allergic reaction.

I live off antihistamines, and decongestants though I try to moderate the use of them. Only thing I can say is to wear masks, clean regulary, get a shop vac, and if you have skin reactions then wear long sleaves and gloves if it's bad.

Cats are like kryptonite for me. Doesn't matter what I do, I could not touch my face and maybe after 15 minutes of being in the same room my eyes will get itchy and bloodshot, and I'll start sneezing. Thankfully chickens themselves don't bother me.

Humidity makes it all worse so you might want to keep a cheap humidistat around. Once you're over 55% humidity mold and mildew may start to release spores which is another source of allergens.

Welcome to the club!

 

[Slothinc]

I am allergic to pine. (And cats and weeds and many other things!) I don’t use any pine for my bedding. I use Sani-care in my coop and brooders. It is similar to sand but it is tiny squares of hardwood with zero dust. However the biggest downside is that it is very difficult to source, especially if living in the west. I would also recommend sand, hemp, or shredded paper if you find out that pine is an issue for you. Not as cheap as pine but worth it (and better for the chickens I have read, as pine can also affect their breathing too.)

 

[Debbie292d]

I was going to suggest horse bedding pellets, but you're using pine chips, so pine is pine. The only thing is they may be less dust is all. We use those in our coop and brooder, and whilst it keeps the dander down too, the heat lamp holders in the brooders still get a layer of dander, just not quite as much.

I suffer from allergies badly, but so far it's not from any of the animals that I know of. I have a doc referring me to an allergist to get to the bottom of this. I've lived with them most of my life, but as of late, they're worse and I'm breaking out.

 

[Folly's place]

Wear that N95 dust mask out there!
And get to an allergist for testing, find out what your actual issues are. I have asthma, and have done much better after being tested, so I can manage exposure to my 'hot buttons'. ANY dust is not good to inhale, even if you aren't actually allergic to what it consists of.
Don't ignore this problem, find out what's going on, and you'll do much better.
Mary

 

[AGeese]

I am allergic to pine. (And cats and weeds and many other things!) I don’t use any pine for my bedding. I use Sani-care in my coop and brooders. It is similar to sand but it is tiny squares of hardwood with zero dust. However the biggest downside is that it is very difficult to source, especially if living in the west. I would also recommend sand, hemp, or shredded paper if you find out that pine is an issue for you. Not as cheap as pine but worth it (and better for the chickens I have read, as pine can also affect their breathing too.)

I would love to live west, low humidity, I can actually breathe in Colorado. But becareful with sand, a lot of it has silica and that's very hard on your lungs and respiratory system.

I was going to suggest horse bedding pellets, but you're using pine chips, so pine is pine. The only thing is they may be less dust is all. We use those in our coop and brooder, and whilst it keeps the dander down too, the heat lamp holders in the brooders still get a layer of dander, just not quite as much.

I suffer from allergies badly, but so far it's not from any of the animals that I know of. I have a doc referring me to an allergist to get to the bottom of this. I've lived with them most of my life, but as of late, they're worse and I'm breaking out.

In addition to allergy meds, I take low dose asprin, zinc, C, and D.