Whistleblower: Poisoned Cats, Injured Hens, Eggs Piled Up for Weeks at Marietta Farm

For Immediate Release:
August 25, 2026

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Marietta, Pa. –

PETA has just received a report from a whistleblower at Shady Brae Farms—which confines around 440,000 birds and is owned by a Sauder’s Eggs supplier—alleging that hens fell into feces-filled pits where they were left to survive on contaminated feed for months; hens died after becoming trapped in cage wires; numerous cats on the property died after being poisoned; and often eggs piled up and were not refrigerated, washed, or shipped for days or weeks. The whistleblower is available for interviews. Photos are available here and video footage is available here.

PETA today sent complaints to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania State Police, urging them to investigate the allegations of cruelty to animals, sanitation violations, and food-safety risks at the farm.

The whistleblower also reported that:

· Injured birds were left to suffer without intervention as long as they could lay eggs, including one hen whose comb had been partially ripped off and whose skull was exposed.

· More than 3,000 birds died of the heat when shed temperatures reached 103 degrees, yet management delayed fan adjustments for hours after being alerted

· Hens who fell out of cages were pulled from piles of feces, put back into cages although covered in manure, and eventually sent to slaughter. Birds were also left without food for up to 36 hours when broken feed lines were not timely repaired.

· A shed fire that killed several dozen chickens was caused by electrical wiring becoming wet from a ceiling leak, and overheated, dangerous equipment was also found smoking.

· Sheds were crawling with mice and poison was put out to kill them, raising concerns that hens may be eating poisoned mice or contaminated feed.

· Workers left rotting and skeletal hen remains in cages crammed up against living hens who could not escape the decomposition.

· Sheds were infested with black mold.

PETA points out that video footage provided by the whistleblower shows hens packed into tiny cages inside dark, filthy sheds without even enough space to stretch their wings. Meanwhile, Sauder’s marketing claims that its products are “certified humane” and that animals have “adequate space.”

*A hen whose comb had been partially ripped off and whose skull was exposed. Credit: PETA*

“From chickens crammed almost on top of each other in filthy wire cages the size of a file drawer to dead birds left to rot alongside the living, these allegations reflect an industry that treats feeling animals as disposable machines,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “Cruelty to animals is rife in egg factories, leading PETA to urge everyone to please, go vegan to help end this suffering.”

Chickens form complex social structures, dream when they sleep, and worry about the future, just as humans do. PETA offers a free vegan starter kit for anyone thinking of making the switch.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.