Lead found in backyard chickens eggs

[donrae]

So where's the headline screaming "Candy consumed frequently by small children has on average twice the lead found in eggs from chickens raised on post-industrial soil!"



So half the eggs had an average of half the amount allowed in candy eaten frequently by small children.

Are they screaming and concerned about the candy?

Tell me, which one is better for the kids?


Much ado about nothing, IMO.

 

[Tamararubin]

Hello - My name is Tamara Rubin, I am the mother of lead poisoned children that is quoted in the New York Times article. I am also the founder of the Lead Safe America Foundation. The important point that was not mentioned in the article is that lead poisoning (even in very trace amounts - and yes trace amounts DO amount to poisoning) causes permanent brain damage in young children, brain damage leading to learning disabilities, behavioral disorders and other life-long health challenges (ADD, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Symptons, etc.) It doesn't take "eating paint chips" to poison a child - just a microscopic amount of lead could do it... like the amount found in many of the eggs that were tested. If that's not enough to scare you (and by scare you - I mean encourage you to test your soil before you consider making an urban garden or keeping urban chickens) - lead poisoning in adults can cause kidney failure, heart disease, early onset Alzheimer's and the fun one... reproductive disorders - including erectile dysfunction! (Most people pay attention to that one Please take care of yourselves and your children by getting your soil tested, getting your home tested and getting your children tested. For more information about the issue: I am making a documentary feature film about the subject and have posted some of my rough-cut sample footage (including clips from my interview with Noam Chomsky) here: http://www.MisleadMovie.com On my personal advocacy site I have an entire section about lead and chicken eggs (it has been up since 2009) http://www.MyChildrenHaveLeadPoisoning.com If you would like a free test-kit to test the paint in your home for lead, click the "like" button on my Facebook page and send me a message on that page with your mailing address: http://www.Facebook.com/MisleadMovie - I also post pictures there of household objects that I test for lead and I am happy to answer any questions about the subject on that page. ....and if you want to make a difference you can help get the word out by making a tax-deductible contribution in support of my advocacy work and my film at http://www.LeadSafeAmerica.org or making a pledge on our Kickstarter project: http://kck.st/Qv0lbL Thank you. Tamara Rubin Executive Director Lead Safe America

 

[GoChick]

Thank you Tamara for all the info and the great work you're doing informing other people about the risks of raising chickens in contaminated soil. $20.00 for a soil test is a cheap price yo pay to make sure our soil is lead free.

 

[ivan3]

silkiechicken wrote:

Didn't read the article in depth... but... I mean, if you grow veggies to eat within a few feet of your house foundation, yeah there will be "elevated" lead levels in the soil and in your food. If you live near major road ways, in a city, in a old community, your lead levels will be higher. It hasn't been "that" many decades since all the cars ran on leaded fuels and houses were painted with lead based paints. I mean, live downwind of industry and you'll have way more contaminants in the air that just get washed into your gardens, on to your pets, or even floating into your homes than if you lived in a forest. But we all know we can't all live in a forest... if we did they'd just turn into a place like the city!

Unfortunately, lead has pretty much contaminated all the soils in heavily populated areas. If it's not lead in the city, it's emissions, arsenic, or plasticizers. If you're in the country, it's pesticides, solvents, and old houses which haven't had their decades old lead painted homes sanded off into the surrounding environment and are still insulated with asbestos. It's always something that is going to give us cancer, deformities or defects. If they don't give it to us, the stress of stressing will degrade the emotional quality of life.

x2

Gotta watch out giving the chooks water from YOUR tap: http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/index.cfm

Serious info with some mention of heavy metals (but read the conclusion): http://www.poultryscience.org/docs/PS_794.pdf

 

[glynnhoo]

I have been researching this til I'm blind this last week. My garage, where my chickens love to dust next to, is covered in old paint. We had stripped it years ago and painted it with non lead, but there has got to be a large amount of lead in the soil next to the garage, where they dust.
I actually watched my chicken eat a paint chip...my heart dropped....I love my birds and their eggs. But in all honestly, I cannot eat the eggs now. I cannot in good conscious give the eggs to anyone knowing that my birds have ingested lead paint chips.

I want to find a testing facility in SE Michigan that will give me a definitive answer.
Without completely digging up my back yard, removing all the soil and replacing it with new...what am I supposed to do?

Lead & children don't mix....not if you want them to have a brain that works. I understand that lead is probably present in things we don't realize...but purposely eating the eggs that I KNOW FOR A FACT have been affected is really difficult for me to do.

I've been contemplating finding a home for my birds. I feel like an idiot and I'm finding it hard to know what to do next.

Suggestions? Don't be critical of me....my birds are my hobby and make me happy...I'm not dissing anyone's right to own birds.

 

[lilchickenz]

glynnhoo I have the same problem. Been thinking more and more about whether I want to eat those eggs when they start laying. My garage is still flaking and peeling all over the place (and it's covered in lead paint). The coop and run is located off one corner of it and I just put up fencing for them to have more yard to peck around and find bugs. I left about 6 or so feet so they can't get near the garage itself, but looking around the ground there are tiny paint flecks everywhere in their penned in area. They are pecking and eating the soil with these paint chips in it. I don't have kids, but lead can harm adults. I think the only way to get rid of it around your house or garage is to either dig it up and carry it away and/or have new brought in. I want to eat my chickens eggs, but now I just don't know so I understand your dilema. I could keep them in their run and they'd probably have less exposure but then I'd feel bad because they seem so bored in there and seem so happy to be out foraging under bushes and in leaf and compost piles. Oh, I wouldn't give my chickens away. They are pets more than anything. If you like the birds why give them away? Just don't eat the eggs

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

from what i have read and been told the stuff they feed the chickens in factorys and the anitbotics and suck I will take a speck of leed over all the stuff the other chicken give us.

The "stuff" they feed chickens on large farms is usually the SAME stuff they put in bags for you to feed yours.

The difference is they buy truckloads instead of bags

 

[glynnhoo]

I wanted to update this....I had my eggs checked at Michigan State Veterinary College....the eggs were perfect....as a matter of fact they fell below the threshold of store bought eggs in any heavy metals, and were higher in calcium and the good things we eat eggs for!

Thank goodness....the garage paint doesn't have lead in it.....just scared me.

 

[sepaditty1]

I'm so glad you had them checked instead of just assuming the worst and losing out on the best benefit of having chickens.

I'm a firm believer in "Don't worry until it's time to worry." I don't go out looking for problems (who has time for that???) but when you have a situation that could become a problem, deal with it productively. Just like you did. You didn't freak out for no reason, you saw the paint chips. Then you took action. Good for you.

 

[AussieHens96]

Is this primarily common in America or in other countries too? I live in Australia and never heard this before?