My crazy girls were bored I guess and began to peck the paint off my old barn. I bought a lead based test kit from Lowes and sure enough, it showed positive for lead based paint. I have now covered the area with aluminum trim coil (so no more pecking). I called the ag agent in my area and he suggested I throw the eggs out for a month before I consume or sell any. My question is: 1.) Are my chickens in danger of dying b/c of the paint they consumed? 2.) How long should I throw the eggs out? 3.) Do I have to cull the flock? My ag agent said consuming some would be fine (for adults) not for children. I may eat a couple of my girls eggs a week. The rest I was going to sell....now I have to throw out. They just started producing eggs. I have 18 hens and 1 rooster. I'm now getting 8-10 eggs a day. Most of my flock is Aracuna but all were purchased this spring. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
1. Probably not. Lead poisoning deaths are usually achieved over long periods of time, so since you caught it early they should be fine. 2. I'd follow what the person from your extension office said. If he said a month, then I'd toss eggs for a month. 3. I wouldn't. Lead will get flushed out of the body over time if they are not constantly getting more of it. I would look at getting some of the lead sealer paint for your barn. I know it is out there because I know people who have used it. It binds with the lead paint so that the lead paint can't chip off and end up floating around in the environment. I am sure there must be other areas of the barn where paint is chipping off, so it could potentially be a danger for any livestock or children wandering around. Good luck.
We had a chicken who got lead poisoning once. She got very sick but managed to pull through. She is a silkie who ate the paint off of our kitchen cabinets. We live in a 1929 home. The vet did a test and said that from a 1- 10... 11 meaning dead... she had a 39! No one was sure how she lived. We didn't eat the eggs for about six weeks. It took her a while to show symptoms... can't remember how long. She would only get sick at night. Had a hard time standing or breathing. Not sure why at night... maybe her resting temp. had something to do with it. Hopefully none of yours will get sick! Don't cull them they can get through it even if they did eat the paint. Ours is happy and healthy... and banned from eating treats in the kitchen!
