Hay problems

[yummychinchillatoys.com]

So I think I have developed an allergy to my chins timothy hay... Every time I get in the bag to give it to them I have a sneezing attack for about 15 minutes then I'm all congested and my hands and face start to itch really bad... Does anyone else have this problem?

I have tried having my husband give it to them but I still have my sneezing attacks from it being in the air and my husband has asthma so it bothers him to...

Any advise? I don't want to not give it to my chins but I can't stand sneezing and being all congested all the time...

 

[threewingedfury]

Have you tried hay cubes? I'm actually highly allergic to my shavings and I break out everytime I change pans. Over 5 years I learned to just deal with it.

 

[yummychinchillatoys.com]

Have you tried hay cubes? I'm actually highly allergic to my shavings and I break out everytime I change pans. Over 5 years I learned to just deal with it.

I have tried alfalfa hay cubes and they don't seem to mind them but I can't find the timothy hay cubes where I live...

 

[mishellyshel]

all the grasses bother me. but i just grin & bear it. however; if it gets worse, i would probably do the following;
alternate with hay cubes
wear gloves
wear face mask
beg the fiance'

 

[momenteller]

i'm allergic to the hay and shavings (also the dog and the cat) and when it gets really bad, i take some Zyrtec. its worked for me. i wouldn't want to take it everyday, but maybe when you know your fiance is unable to help that day it would help you feel less miserable?

 

[kendra]

not the best brand ever but kaytee makes the timothy cubes, maybe they are available online?

 

[yummychinchillatoys.com]

Yeah I've tried the face mask thing... and as soon as I take it off I start sneezing... I been dealing with it like this for about a year now... and couldn't figure out why I was always sneezing and congested.. Well recently I figured it out.. It's the hay... and the dust bath... I have to leave the house for a few hours after there baths... My husband does do it most of the time.. But sometimes after cleaning their cages he's not home so I will just go ahead and tough it out and give them some... But most of the time he does it... Which has helped some...

 

[yummychinchillatoys.com]

not the best brand ever but kaytee makes the timothy cubes, maybe they are available online?

I use to be able to get it when I lived down in L.A, california but since I moved away I haven't been able to find it.. You would think since I live in a farm community I could find it some where... But No they all just tell me "no I only sell the alfalfa cubes"..

 

[AZChins]

I have helped switch a few of my customers to timothy hay cubes from the loose stuff. That always works very well for people with allergies. I'd get someone at a feed store to special order you the timothy hay cubes, someone will be willing to do it - they would probably be able to get them from the same place they buy their alfalfa cubes. You can always buy them online, I suppose.

 

[aznmexaggie]

I don't know if the feed stores in your area carry Associated Feed's products but they are located in California and make timothy/alfalfa cubes as well as plain alfalfa cubes. I use the timmy/alfalfa ones in addition to loose hays. It's cleaner, smells fresh, and all the chins love them.

 

[menagerie]

Try feeding a different type of grass hay. Orchard, brome, bermuda.

 

[addictedtochins]

I don't have that problem, but when Jeremy was younger he had some allergies. We got one of those Honeywell Hepa air purifier things. Oh, I'll look for a link..
http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-50250-99-97-Round-Purifier/dp/B00007E7RY
That thing worked great!

 

[Spoof]

Yup, you can try a different type of hay, or go with the cubes like others have mentioned. It is very rare to find pure timothy cubes as it does not bind, they have to add ash or another hay to bind it.

The most common cube is a 70/30 mix, I highly recommend them if you can find them.

 

[aznmexaggie]

The most common cube is a 70/30 mix, I highly recommend them if you can find them.

Yeah, the Associated Feed cubes I use are 70/30. They said they can't make 100% timothy cubes because it does not bind together well.

 

[InkedupTara]

Zyrtek! My best friend <3

 

[llough]

Oh, no - I'm sorry to hear that!

At the risk of sounding kinda wacko, have your tried aromatherapy? I have allergies sometimes, but I don't like the medicines because they make me sleepy. Aromatherpy calms down my dust allergies pretty well.

You can either diffuse the essential oils (use Grade A therapeutic oils to make sure they don't have any harmful synthetics or additives) with a diffuser (its kind of like a mini humidifier, but its so small it doesn't make the room humid so it won't bother your chinchillas) or just rub a little bit on your chest or under your nose. The diffuser seems to work better for me, I don't know why. Lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint, lemon and some others are good ones to combine that seem to work fairly well.

If it doesn't work, i can promise that it smells AWESOME (at least I think so)! If its ok, I'll PM you a site or two that I have bought a few products from that were really reasonably priced, good quality, and reliable.