Barry,
Sorry to hear of your health setbacks. I hope you continue with a strong recovery.
Your chicken story reminded me of one of my own. 10 years ago when Sweet Wife and I moved to this remote piece of wilderness we soon discovered we were buried in ticks. Couldn't go outside without spraying everything. My best friend's wife raises bantam chickens as a sideline and had a bunch of surplus roosters nobody wanted, so she offered them to us. I'm talking 100 roosters. I brought them home, turned them loose, and tossed them some scratch every afternoon to keep them close.
Good outcome: all the ticks vanished.
Bad side effect: My friend, the source of these little fellows, is a lifelong timber worker, left for work at 4:30AM every morning.
At 4:30AM every morning all 100 of these little varmints started crowing on all sides of the house and kept it up until the sun rose. We grew used to and ceased to notice until my California cousin came out to visit. After her first night she said,"WHAT IS UP WITH THOSE D**** CHICKENS!"
Still brings a smile to my face.