Brand New To This and Extremely Allergic... HELP....

brandon00733

Chirping
Apr 25, 2016
90
20
91
Mid Florida
My Coop
My Coop
Hi- We got 6 baby chicks that are exactly 4 weeks old today. I am having a severe allergy to them and its only getting worse as the days go by... we have them in our laundry room and its still not far enough. My question is when can we put them in their coop we built oitside? We live in central Fl so its very very hot here already. Feels like 98 during the day already getting to 75-80 at night....
 
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I believe chicks should never, ever be in the house. Go ahead and put them out. They may need a small heat lamp at night for a week or so, depending on your nighttime temps. \

Being in a tropical type climate, you can build an aviary type pen for them, instead of an enclosed coop that will confine the dust and dander. I'm immune suppressed and had my Honey build open air type pens out of hog panels. Now I can enjoy my chickens and not horrify my doctors
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I agree! You need them outside, and a three sided shed type coop will work great, as long as it's done in hardware cloth. Ventilation is essential, for you and the birds. Wear a N95 face mask around them, and get all that dust cleaned up, preferably not by you! Mary
 
Oh this is great news! Thank you so much. I have Celiac disease I'm allergic to wheat and gluten. I honestly didn't think the feed would be an issue but it is -my face is a balloon and its scabbing up really bad... I just finished up a round of immune suppressing meds and my dr is so upset with me that I still have them in the house. I just didn't want them to die! Will it be too hot? Should we put a fan in there for a couple weeks?
 
You will want to find feed that doesn't contain things that make you ill, because the dust from the feed will be everywhere in the coop and run and on the birds, so avoiding specific ingredients will help a lot. If you end up in the hospital, or dead, what then?! Get them outside! Mary
 
They will be fine. I'm on coastal Alabama and it is hot and muggy already. I have a 4 week and 5 week old on our patio in a brooder. I don't do birds inside until it is really cold outside, and then only for the first week. I can't take their dust and has me in a allergy induced misery.

If their coop is ready, boot them out!
At 4 weeks, they should have decent feathering if you've had a cool spot in your brooder and worked on weaning them off a heat source.

As long as they have shade during the day, they will be fine. My little ones love to run into the sun and sprawl out for a quick nap, then back to the shade again.
 
Oh, by all means move them out to their coop immediately! Even if they've been coddled with a heat lamp all this time, if it's above 70F, at four weeks, they can safely move outside without any additional heat source.

I tried something new this time when I transitioned my chicks to the coop without any heat source. I got an old cat napping pod from a friend and placed it in the coop on the floor. My chicks were happy to cuddle together for warmth and security for the first few nights. Last night they quit using the pod, and I figured they were through with it. So tonight I taught them to use the roosting perch. They all four fell asleep on the perch as I gently laid my hands on their backs for comfort and to quiet them and lull them to sleep. They are four weeks old today.
 
You might check out your state thread here---go to the Where Am I, Where Are You section. Some folks may be using fans or ice, etc to keep birds cool. I'm mostly for just providing lots of fresh water and shade, but I'm in a different climate.

There are some good older threads on the Feed section about folks with severe celiac and what they used to feed their birds, you might do some research there. Finding wheat free feed may be trickier than finding corn or soy free, but I'm sure it can be done.

It's a love/hate with those immune suppressants, isn't it
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? But as Mary wisely pointed out, us landing in the hospital wouldn't do anyone any good.
 

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