Avian Empire Blog — Heavy Metal Poisoning

Backyard chickens can be exposed to a multitude of different hazards when they are free ranging.  Lead has been a common problem in these flocks causing detrimental effects to the health of these birds but also with the transfer of these heavy metals to the eggs that humans may eat.     Lead causes issues when ingested by being highly dense, not readily oxidized and acting as a neurotoxic agent.  As such the metal does not breakdown in the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract and can be slowly absorbed into the bloodstream. There can be a variety of presentations depending...