Any celiacs out there raising chicks in your house?

srfjeld

Chirping
8 Years
May 13, 2011
165
0
99
Portland
A year ago I found out I have celiacs disease so we spent several weeks ridding our house of all things gluten... even having to replace our toaster and some pots and pans. As a result I lost weight and my health drastically improved.

Fast forward to 3 weeks ago when we made the impulsive decision to follow our friends' bandwagons and get chicks. Brought them home to our humble 600 sf cabin and set up their brooder in our dining room. I quickly found out the chick feed had wheat it in but figured if I didn't touch it, I'd be okay... well, I did not take into account the amount of dust those little peepers kick up and I now have gluten residue all over my house and I'm starting to feel like I have the worst allergies, my gluten rash is back and I'm constantly bloated. My boyfriend is working as fast as he can to get that coop built and the idea is to get the heat lamp out there and just use their new henhouse has their brooder... keep them cooped up in there for the next few weeks until their feathers come in and we can start letting them out.

I'm just wondering if any other celiacs have encountered this problem and what you ended up doing about it. I've looked for gluten free feed but to no avail. I've seen where people make their own, but how expensive is that going to be? Also, I have to keep them on the chick feed for the first 3 to 4 months so I wouldn't be making it yet anyway.

Advice... suggestions?

Thank you,

Steph

And I guess I should say, we don't have a basement or a garage to put them in either.
 
I'm not a celiac but I am asthmatic and allergic to dust. I'm raising my chicks outdoors -- a brooder box on a covered porch. It's a whole lot easier than dealing with the dust!

FWIW, you don't have to wait until they're fully feathered to let them outside. We have lots of field trips (short if it's not very warm out, hours if it is).
 
I have asthma as well and my attacks have been kicked up a bit, too. I would put them out on the porch but it's still getting pretty cold here in Portland, Oregon at night. Plus, I don't have anything to lock the top down to keep raccoons out. It's something to think about though.
 

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