Rescue Hen Bridget’s Body Was Still Being Asked to Produce
Last week, something wasn’t right with Bridget.

One of the 43 hens recently rescued from a commercial egg farm, Bridget was straining, and her cloaca—the opening through which a hen lays eggs and eliminates waste—was severely distended. She was in pain, and she was frightened. We knew she needed help.

Bridget was brought immediately to the NEPA Rescue Veterinary Clinic.

There an examination and diagnostic testing revealed an obstruction. She couldn’t properly eliminate waste, and the problem was serious enough that Dr. Interlandi needed to intervene surgically.
What they removed was a large amount of material commonly called “lash eggs.”
Despite the name, lash eggs aren’t really eggs. They are masses of inflammatory material that can form inside a hen’s reproductive tract, often in association with inflammation or infection of the oviduct. In severe cases, this material can accumulate and contribute to an obstruction.

For Bridget, the obstruction had become a medical emergency.

“Bridget is a powerful example of why rescue is only the beginning for hens coming out of commercial egg production,” said Dr. Leslie Interlandi, Indraloka’s Director of Veterinary Medicine. “Even after they reach safety, their bodies can continue to experience serious reproductive problems. Bridget was in significant distress when she came into the clinic, and without intervention, the obstruction could have become life-threatening. Our greatest concern is helping her heal and giving her the chance to live comfortably as a hen.”

Thankfully, surgery was successful. Bridget is once again urinating and defecating—a very encouraging sign—but she isn’t out of danger yet. She remains at the clinic, where we can monitor her closely before deciding when it is safe for her to return to her flock in Mojo’s Bird Village.

Bridget’s story helps explain why bringing these hens to safety was only the beginning.

For generations, commercial laying hens have been bred and managed around one purpose: producing lots of eggs. The reproductive system of a laying hen can develop serious disorders, including inflammation of the oviduct, impaction, internal laying, egg binding and prolapse. Some of these conditions can become life-threatening.

Bridget may no longer live on an egg farm, but her body doesn’t know that.
She doesn’t know that we expect nothing from her. She doesn’t need to prove her worth to us. She doesn’t need to earn her keep. She has already given so much–more than her fragile body should.
Her body simply continues doing what it was biologically driven—and, through generations of selective breeding, increasingly expected—to do.

That’s one reason sanctuary is so much more than opening a barn door.
These hens arrived carrying their histories with them. Some of what they’ve endured is visible: missing feathers, injuries, frightened behavior. Other consequences may reveal themselves weeks, months, or even years later.
When they do, we’ll be here doing all we can to help them.

For Bridget, that meant someone noticing that she was straining. It meant immediate diagnostics. It meant surgery when an obstruction was discovered. And now it means a quiet place to recover, careful monitoring, and a veterinary team watching for any sign that she needs more help. And of course, lots of love and affection.

This is what lifelong sanctuary means.

We couldn’t change Bridget’s beginning. But we can make sure that from now on, her body isn’t valued for what it produces.
Bridget is valued simply because she is Bridget.
And right now, we’re very grateful that she’s still here.