Chicken eggs and lead

[Marmalade25]

About me...
I live in MA in an old home that is confirmed to have lead paint. I have small children and another on the way. When I decided to get chickens I took some precautions to keep them a few feet away from the outside of the old shed they would be housed in, including away from the soil directly around it. I thought I was doing pretty good til I found them getting through my blockades and pecking old paint off of a structure. We have not been consuming their eggs since. I don't mind so much because my flock is small and even further downsized after a predator attack. They are great for composting my leaves and we generally just enjoy them. I did extensive reading about the lead issue and found most studies that tested yolk, white and shell separately found no lead in the white. We had some whites recently for the first time. I called around and found that University of Maine's soil lab will test eggs, but it's two at a minimum and $25 each. It's souds silly, but $50-75 to test their eggs has not been a priority while trying to feed my family. I saw another recent study from September of 2018 that tested 200 backyard eggs in the Boston area and 98% of them contained lead. With young children and pregnancy, it's not worth risking trying to consume the egss, but it certainly does dash hopes of producing our own food and backyard homesteading. At this point I keep them as pets and for what they contribute to gardening.
I know this is a tough issue to think about, but I don't hear it discussed much and I would be happy to hear a constructive conversation from folks that have faced this issue.

 

[Doc7]

I’m not a doctor and can’t give you medical advice.

But I personally would find it hard pressed to believe that a chicken can eat enough lead paint as a percent of its diet, that has enough lead as a percent of its constituents, that as a percentage of the food consumed that actually goes into becoming part of an egg, that is a percentage of your daily diet, that i would ever be worried about this. I am sure one meal of wild game that was shot with a typical hunting rifle cartridge with a lead bullet contains far more microscopic (chewable without noticing anything) lead particles than the egg possibly could.

 

[Doc7]

I am assuming in the post above that you are neither a young child nor pregnant.

 

[Marmalade25]

Good point, Doc7. It looks like the biggest problem is not so much the lead paint chips like mine were eating, but lead that has already found its way into the soil surrounding these old buildings (which is also an issur on my property). With chickens constantly scratching in dirt, they seem to pick up a lot and shed a good amount of it into their eggs. In which case, a soil test for lead can help chicken keepers determine if this will be an issue. I find it difficult to see how it's possible to test an entire yard or even a large run for possible lead in the soil since it could contain different levels a foot apart. In my case, since I know it is an old home, I have assumed there is some lead content in the soil as well. But another concern is lead from gasoline that is still in the soil, for instance if the property is near a road that was used prior to banning lead from gasoline. My best hope is to remediate the soil by adding compost, and coincidentally chicken manure, which contains potassium that binds with lead and creates a crystal (pyromorphite) that become bio-unavailable to animals. It's my understanding that by also shifting the pH to alkaline aslo helps to keep it in this state. Unfortunately a simple lead test cannot tell you whether lead is in that state, it simply measures total lead content, not whether or not it will be bio-unavailable.
Here is an article that sums up the study done at Tufts last year and the amounts of lead in eggs and how consumption could theoretically effect blood levels in children.

http://www.bu.edu/sph/2018/08/29/eggs-of-urban-chickens-contaminated-with-lead/

Of course, I do not want to discourage backyard eggs production by presenting this info, but merely discuss ways to deal with it instead of giving up hope.

 

[K0k0shka]

Hi! I also live in MA (Boston area) and have the same doubts and questions, and not finding a lot of discussion on this subject online. Our house is very old, too, and even though it was repainted before we moved in, and there is no exposed lead paint (that I'm aware of), we did have a LOT of lead in the soil. I took samples from different parts of the property and had them tested at UMass Amherst and the lead levels were ridiculously high! Ranging from "children and pregnant women should not come into contact with this soil" (in the open part of the yard) to "contact the EPA immediately" (in the areas closest to the house). It was heart-breaking, because we wanted to raise both kids and pets in that yard! Few people think to check, but this is just the reality of urban and suburban areas, even long after lead-containing products have been banned. Accumulated lead doesn't go away on its own, and there is no easy way to remediate lead soil that will be effective. We ended up getting two truckloads of clean soil and covering the whole yard, several inches thick, and re-seeding the lawn.

We'll be getting our first chickens next spring and are worried about them digging up lead from under the cap of clean soil. Especially because the area where the coop and run will be didn't get covered as well as the rest. We're planning on getting some more clean fill and spreading it over the chicken area just in case, and giving them a sand box for dust baths, to redirect that behavior to a safe place and remove at least one reason to dig.

Your best bet is covering up the bad soil with something - a thick layer of clean soil/sand/mulch/something - as well as cutting off access to chipping lead paint. You can put several coats of new paint on top of the lead paint, if there's no way to stop the chickens from getting at it. Just be sure to wear a mask if you'll be scraping the lead paint off first. You can get a large dose of lead yourself by inhaling the dust (worse for the chickens and the kids). You can also lay down pavers, bricks, tiles, rocks, wooden boards/planks or other such materials on top of the worst areas of soil closest to the paint. You can search Craigslist or your neighborhood groups for materials people are giving away for free. Depending on how big your run is, you may even be able to cover the whole area up, only leaving a patch or container of clean soil for the chickens to get their digging fix in.

Good luck! And do post updates if you have any developments!

 

[Marmalade25]

Hi! I also live in MA (Boston area) and have the same doubts and questions, and not finding a lot of discussion on this subject online. Our house is very old, too, and even though it was repainted before we moved in, and there is no exposed lead paint (that I'm aware of), we did have a LOT of lead in the soil. I took samples from different parts of the property and had them tested at UMass Amherst and the lead levels were ridiculously high! Ranging from "children and pregnant women should not come into contact with this soil" (in the open part of the yard) to "contact the EPA immediately" (in the areas closest to the house). It was heart-breaking, because we wanted to raise both kids and pets in that yard! Few people think to check, but this is just the reality of urban and suburban areas, even long after lead-containing products have been banned. Accumulated lead doesn't go away on its own, and there is no easy way to remediate lead soil that will be effective. We ended up getting two truckloads of clean soil and covering the whole yard, several inches thick, and re-seeding the lawn.

We'll be getting our first chickens next spring and are worried about them digging up lead from under the cap of clean soil. Especially because the area where the coop and run will be didn't get covered as well as the rest. We're planning on getting some more clean fill and spreading it over the chicken area just in case, and giving them a sand box for dust baths, to redirect that behavior to a safe place and remove at least one reason to dig.

Your best bet is covering up the bad soil with something - a thick layer of clean soil/sand/mulch/something - as well as cutting off access to chipping lead paint. You can put several coats of new paint on top of the lead paint, if there's no way to stop the chickens from getting at it. Just be sure to wear a mask if you'll be scraping the lead paint off first. You can get a large dose of lead yourself by inhaling the dust (worse for the chickens and the kids). You can also lay down pavers, bricks, tiles, rocks, wooden boards/planks or other such materials on top of the worst areas of soil closest to the paint. You can search Craigslist or your neighborhood groups for materials people are giving away for free. Depending on how big your run is, you may even be able to cover the whole area up, only leaving a patch or container of clean soil for the chickens to get their digging fix in.

Good luck! And do post updates if you have any developments!

Hi! I also live in MA (Boston area) and have the same doubts and questions, and not finding a lot of discussion on this subject online. Our house is very old, too, and even though it was repainted before we moved in, and there is no exposed lead paint (that I'm aware of), we did have a LOT of lead in the soil. I took samples from different parts of the property and had them tested at UMass Amherst and the lead levels were ridiculously high! Ranging from "children and pregnant women should not come into contact with this soil" (in the open part of the yard) to "contact the EPA immediately" (in the areas closest to the house). It was heart-breaking, because we wanted to raise both kids and pets in that yard! Few people think to check, but this is just the reality of urban and suburban areas, even long after lead-containing products have been banned. Accumulated lead doesn't go away on its own, and there is no easy way to remediate lead soil that will be effective. We ended up getting two truckloads of clean soil and covering the whole yard, several inches thick, and re-seeding the lawn.

We'll be getting our first chickens next spring and are worried about them digging up lead from under the cap of clean soil. Especially because the area where the coop and run will be didn't get covered as well as the rest. We're planning on getting some more clean fill and spreading it over the chicken area just in case, and giving them a sand box for dust baths, to redirect that behavior to a safe place and remove at least one reason to dig.

Your best bet is covering up the bad soil with something - a thick layer of clean soil/sand/mulch/something - as well as cutting off access to chipping lead paint. You can put several coats of new paint on top of the lead paint, if there's no way to stop the chickens from getting at it. Just be sure to wear a mask if you'll be scraping the lead paint off first. You can get a large dose of lead yourself by inhaling the dust (worse for the chickens and the kids). You can also lay down pavers, bricks, tiles, rocks, wooden boards/planks or other such materials on top of the worst areas of soil closest to the paint. You can search Craigslist or your neighborhood groups for materials people are giving away for free. Depending on how big your run is, you may even be able to cover the whole area up, only leaving a patch or container of clean soil for the chickens to get their digging fix in.

Good luck! And do post updates if you have any developments![/QU[/Q

Hi! Yes, I'm happy to see that this is relevant for others to discuss lead in eggs as well. It is a real issue for those of us that live in old neighborhoods.

Your extensive efforts to cover over the soil is very impressive and no small undertaking! That's excellent.

I have not had further developments other than to sadly not consume the eggs. Being of reproductive age and having small children myself, I can't bring myself to eat them without knowing for sure. Although based off of studies I've seen, it seems pretty safe to eat the whites.

I was able to get in touch with the University of Maine soil lab and they confirmed to me last year that they could test them for me. At the time it was $25 per egg to test with a $50 minimum. I have not been able to justify spending that testing eggs when I can get store eggs relatively inexpensively, I'm sad to say.

That is the difficult part, once the chickens have had some type of access to lead, I am in doubt about the levels unless I test. It feels too risky to not know. I think your measures to prevent lead contact for your prospective chickens is good, and maybe even putting a barrier of rocks under the clean soil or something they can't easily scratch through, may help keep you from experiencing that worry.

I am not able to cover my entire yard with clean soil at this stage, but we did focus on building up a cap around the old buildings. We found a study that
the highest levels from chipping paint is the in the immediy three feet. I guessed the same thing as your soil test revealed, that levels could be drastically different in the same yard. For now, the building perimeter cap makes me feel a little better for the sake of my children.

Good luck as well, I'm happy to hear you aware of the problem before you have gotten your chickens and taken active measures to protect your family. We personally have a pipe dream to find a solution to eliminate this problem by a safe, natural and effective process that renders lead harmless in the soil. Youre right presently there does seem to be an effective enough solution that isn't terribly slow or expensive. Sunflowers mine lead! Just have to dispose of them properly. Sigh... Someday.

 

[Marmalade25]

*does not seem to be an effective solution presently

 

[LadyGagasAuntie]

Hi, has anyone actually send their eggs to the Univ of Maine for testing? Do you have a contact there (an email)? I went to their website and saw only soil testing. I did send an email to one of the contacts listed. Just wondering if anyone has actually sent them there. Thanks!

 

[Marmalade25]

Hi, has anyone actually send their eggs to the Univ of Maine for testing? Do you have a contact there (an email)? I went to their website and saw only soil testing. I did send an email to one of the contacts listed. Just wondering if anyone has actually sent them there. Thanks!

Hi! I never sent in eggs to be tested, but did email and was confirmed that they do the testing. My contact there as of Feb 2018 was Suzanne Perron [email protected] but hopefully someone will get back to you in case things have changed. I'd still like to someday, but again $50 for only two eggs plus shipping, something else always seems to take priority over that. Let me know if you do and what the results are like. Good luck.