Sickness and disease are inherent problems in these, and all, intensive confinement operations where birds are forced to live in filth and extreme confinement. In an attempt to minimize costs, and maximize profit, even the sickest of hens are denied veterinary care. Investigators discovered many hens left to die an agonizingly slow death from sickness and injury.

MFA’s investigation uncovered many hens suffering from terrible eye and sinus infections. These injures were caused by the saturated filth of the atmosphere in which the hens are forced to live. High concentrations of ammonia can lead to inflammation and difficulty in resisting infection. This was compounded by the high concentration of dust and debris that filled the air of both farms. Veterinarians that reviewed MFA’s footage concluded that hens suffering from untreated eye and sinus infections "suffer terribly from these lesions." Many of the lesions were obviously long-standing, which is, once again, evidence that there are completely inadequate inspections of the hens.

Other hens suffering from the infectious disease known as facial cellulitis were discovered at both farms. Facial cellulitis is caused by a variety of bacteria of which Escherichia coli is the most frequent. Avian pneumovirus infections are also involved, according to Diseases of Poultry, pp. 669-673. Facial cellulitis is common in battery-caged hens used in commercial egg production and in all poultry confinement situations involving crowding, inadequate ventilation, and poor management, i.e. a dirty, ammoniated, pathogen-ridden environment. The hen’s face puffs out as a result of swelling of the layers of cellular tissue beneath facial skin that has been injured by cuts or scratches.

The investigation also uncovered hens suffering from other serious, yet un-treated, medical conditions. All 34 hens rescued tested positive for the disease pasteurellae. Birds suffering from leg paralysis were discovered collapsed on their cage floors, left to endure the sharp claws of their cagemates digging into their bare backs. A hen suffering from severe vitamin deficiency, unable to lift her head upright, was rescued from Daylay Egg Farm. Another hen rescued from Daylay was diagnosed by an avian specialist as having vent peritonitis. This painful condition, which can be brought on by a trapped or broken egg inside the hen’s vent, proved to be fatal even after receiving veterinary care. Hernias and blindness also plagued hens at both farms.