I got our egg lead test results back today. Unfortunately, they were not good. They showed .2, .3, and .4 parts per million (see technical notes below).
I'm not really sure what to do at this point. These results are very depressing, considering that I have so enthusiastically fed Melina backyard eggs for the last 2 years. Her levels aren't overwhelmingly high (3) but they are still of concern, according to her doctor and the Portland Lead Line. It is upsetting that I thought I was doing something so healthy and it turns out that it was actually harmful - and it is also upsetting because I am very pro-urban chicken and I don't want to dump a big wet can of worms on the whole movement. So to speak.
I don't want to get rid of my girls, but at this point I don't have much appetite for their eggs and I am not planning to feed them to my daughter until I know they don't have lead in them. I can't even compost them because I don't want lead in my garden (which is in a raised bed with new soil). Lead is present in the shells as well, so I can't refeed the shells to my girls. So I guess the next step is to test my soil, figure out where the lead is (if possible) and either remediate it (replace the top foot of soil) or fence it off from the girls. All of this sounds really expensive and difficult (anyone have a small backhoe or a strong back that I can borrow?).
So does the average backyard chicken owner need to worry? From what I've read, if you live in a house built after 1978 or your chickens are well away from any source of lead paint and you do not live in a Superfund site, you're probably OK. If you're an adult, you're probably OK, though you shouldn't really be consuming lead either. If you have small children who you are feeding eggs to, you might want to get them tested. The place where I got mine tested (Wy'East) said that they had recently tested other backyard eggs that showed no lead at all.
Technical notes for people who are REALLY interested:
The lead level in my eggs was very similar to the eggs tested in the only academic study I'm aware of. Their highest egg yolk lead level was also .4 ppm (400 ppb), which lead them to conclude that "Eggs and chicken tissues containing significant concentrations of lead are a potential human health hazard, especially to young children. Repeated consumption of contaminated eggs from a family owned flock could provide a continuing dietary source of lead." As a control, they tested eggs of chickens that had not been exposed to lead paint, and their levels were much lower. Lead does not naturally occur in chicken eggs, so these levels *do* represent a problem.
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5 comments:
This is really sad, Jennifer. You are doing the right thing by not eating them, of course, but your bigger problem--where the lead is coming from--may be impossible to solve without a lot of time and expense. I know how disappointing this must be for you and am so very sorry.
oh no! Very sad. I always thought your chickens were very cool.
i'm sorry to hear that news, and i'm glad that melina's levels were not too high. --lily
I can't thank you enough for sharing this! I am having a baby girl in a few weeks and getting ready to get our own chickens too.
I'd love to hear what you are doing to reduce the lead levels in your family.
If you want to discuss some ideas please do not hesitate to contact me at 503.975.5298 or email me at neighborhoodchiro.com
-Dokken
We keep chickens for eggs near our 1910 house. I had the soil tested for lead. 434 parts per million, which is 34 parts higher than the accepted "safe" level for areas children will play in. Since the chickens sure do seem to eat a lot of dirt, I had an egg tested. None detected. The testing threshold is 1 part per million.
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