I've fed/watered out of rubber bowls for years, and never had an issue. I really want to get some test strips and see for myself now.
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Maybe once, until you clean the top, then not so much. Any sealer thick enough to provide a barrier would mark up with the slightest use.Granite countertops are supposed to be sealed, aren't they?
I'm following this thread, we have some of those rubber dishes and will be removing them from the pen. Can't afford to buy yet one more thing (lead test strips) atm.
This video is my own and I posted it to warn people, not get clicks.The youtube video is not really passing the smell test for me. There is no EPA "alert" level for lead in water so you can't get 2000x the "EPA limit". Lead levels in water is usually measured in parts per million/billion vs. mg/L so that smells fishy too. I think the guy mentioned that the water came off a metal shed roof? Seems like click bait to me... Although I'm now curious to test the water in the rubber bowls we use.
I have no information about the family who got lead poisoning.I rarely use these bowls as they're just not my favorite thing to use. If I do use the one I have, it'd be likely to use for water, not feed. I prefer not to use mine because the birds will just step in it, and it's not large enough to last any amount of time. I have one because it is easier to break ice out of, which is something I no longer need. What you shared is very interesting, and thanks for sharing. Even if I do ever have a need to use mine again, I probably won't use it based off what you said here. I would like to see what other people come up with after testing their bowls though.
Now with that family, there is other factors I'd like to question: them drinking water from a local spring being one of them. My family tested positive for high levels of this metal (I can't remember what it was called now) and a few weeks later our local spring had a warning on it that it had that metal in the water. Another thing, back to the bowl, is there a possibility that the chickens were eating the bowl itself? Chickens will peck anything to eat, even the coop itself (if the wood is soft enough), so it wouldn't surprise me if the chickens were eating the bowl itself, just, it may have been so subtle that it wasn't caught. (Did this family do a soil test as well? Chickens will eat dirt too. How old is their house they live in? That's another factor to look at.)