Lead In Soil! Need advice on solutions.

[Nicole_Z]

Hey all,

A few weeks ago a friend shared an article with me about backyard chicken eggs having 40 times more lead than supermarket eggs. I live in Berkeley, CA and I have a four chicken flock in my backyard.

Anyway, after he sent me this article, I figured it'd be worth testing the soil in my chicken coop and run.

Turns out my soil does have lead in it, 198 mg/kg. This is fine for gardening, but according to the article "in order to retain chicken blood Pb below 20 ug/dl, soil Pb needs to be <166 mg/kg.

Needless to say, I will not be eating any more eggs until I come up with a resolution.

Has anyone dealt with this? If so, what did you do?

I'm planning on putting down a layer of sand, and then putting down a new layer of soil. Another I'm thinking about is layinng concrete in the chicken run, and adding soil on top of that.

Would appreciate any and all feedback.

Thank you!

 

[SmiYa0126]

When you did the soil test was it multiple sites in your yard? Is the result an average? Could they tell you of one part is higher or lower? Maybe you could create an enclosure in the area that is below the limit?

 

[saysfaa]

This website seems to me to give good advice.

 

[Bladester]

Hi:

I think your first game plan is the best one. "I'm planning on putting down a layer of sand, and then putting down a new layer of soil." I recommend before you do that is sample a few other areas on your property and see if it is consistent and averages out. An bed of 3-4 inches of sand and then some good quality top soil should be a good layer of protection. Cheers!

 

[3KillerBs]

Are you taking this from just one article?

Have you spoken to your local ag agency? To any other experts?

While lead can, of course, be a significant problem and while some soils are significantly contaminated and dangerous, I'm always DEEPLY SKEPTICAL of any single-source information about some kind of hazard. Scaremongering for profit is, unfortunately, a reality.

 

[RojoMarz]

Some other mentions of lead Stop Freaking Out About Lead..., Backyard Chickens and the Risk of Lead Exposure, Eggs of Urban Chickens Contaminated with Lead

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If you're concerned about the soil then provide clean grit for them and dust bathing sites. If they don't use your soil for either of those two needs your worry is for not.

 

[saysfaa]

It is a lot of work to cover a yard inches deep and it messes up the structure of the soil. Deep rooted plants will go through it anyway; at least some species will bring the lead up.

Better to use the lead accumulating plants to pull the lead out of the soil. And/or keep the lead inert by adjusting the pH of the soil.

Since testing shows the lead is only a little high, one or both of these methods shouldn't take long to get the amounts to reasonably safe levels.

 

[PaperChicken]

Plant some lettuce or collards there and then pull the plants and dispose of them. Then plant more and discard until the levels come down.