3% of backyard chickens were producing eggs containing enough of this poison to damage the health of children in the household. This new study points out the association between lead poison getting from the soil and environment, through the eggs and into the humans eating those eggs.

This is a particular risk to backyard chickens in inner-city areas (due to long term soil contamination from previous industrial activity), and older suburban houses under renovation where old lead based paint is being removed. It is also a risk for “free range” eggs from areas close to cities with a past history of industrial use.