The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[Mother of Chaos]

The Incredible Journey, later made into a film

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Black Beauty

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Animal farm, Charlotte's Web

 

[speckledhen]

Add Charlotte's Web to that mix as well as Black Beauty and probably twenty I've forgotten about!

 

[speckledhen]

I was having trouble going to sleep. I finished the first draft of my novel and started to edit, but had to turn in at around 10 p.m. I got up at 1:25 a.m. for a bathroom trip, then all my roosters began crowing at 2:30 a.m. for some unknown reason. So, in the end, I gave up and pulled my laptop over on my lap in bed and started editing again. I am running on fumes now, as you can imagine.
I finally got what the allergy clinic suggested, an appt for a breathing test at the closest hospital on Friday. I have a feeling that I'll be back in the allergy clinic for extended testing and may end up having to run a course of allergy shots. My voice is not the same anymore. Sometimes, I start to film a video and have to stop for a coughing fit and resume later.
My husband keeps saying it could be chicken dust/dander. I don't believe that because this is the first real issue like this I've ever had; since last March, it's been interfering in my life and sleep. We've had chickens for almost 21 years and this is just now affecting me? I don't buy it. I do need to blow out the dust from the barn, sure, but it's going to take all the birds being outside at the same time and that's a tough one so it will likely wait until next spring or summer. I know that Bird Fanciers Lung is a thing, but my barn is well-ventilated and I spend more time outside with them than inside.

I have no idea what they use for allergy injections as far as meds and if there are side effects, etc. Never had to think about it in the past. The clinic said something about allergy shots for a 3 yr period to desensitize me to whatever is causing it and maybe amino acid therapy? Never heard of that before, but it seems to be for nutritional support. I need to research it, I guess, but I eat almost exclusively meat and eggs so I get the full spectrum of amino acids daily. The only ongoing condition I've ever been medicated for is my hypothyroidism, one medication at almost 69 yrs old-that tells you how healthy I've been, overall, at least in the 23 years we've lived on this property. I hate going to a doctor, hate having to even consider it. I do NOT want any more medications in my system.
Maybe it's the cat! He's been here since late 2014, but he's old now and his litterbox has a funky smell lately, probably something in his urine. He mostly goes outside but in winter, that's not always possible. My husband has the litterbox on the back side of the house near where his computer is and he spends ages sitting about 3 ft from it. He cannot smell it at all, being an old guy with failing senses (hearing, sight, smell, the works) and it's rank over that way. Gross. I keep telling him that it smells weird and off now, that he needs to clean that thing out daily, but he won't believe me because he can't smell it. Finn has never had urinary tract issues, but again, he's older, about 12 1/2 yrs. so who knows what's wrong now.