Sick or depressed?

[LeaPea]

Hi everyone,

I recently lost my 5 year old silkie due to oviduct blockage. She was laying soft-shelled eggs and had 'solid material' in the oviduct. She was humanely euthanised last week. Now, my second egg-layer (3 year old French Marans) is looking very unwell. She was laying very small, yolkless, bloody eggs (~6 in total) in the weeks prior to the other hens death. She is now hiding under the house, head held low, not laying or eating. She is usually the alpha hen. The rest of the flock (2 pullets and 1 young roo) seem fine.

I have 2 questions:

1) Are there any environmental factors (excessive rain, heat, mosquitoes, fungi etc) that could cause sudden reproductive problems in hens?
2) Could the Marans be grieving for her buddy? Prior to the young ones hatching (under the silkie) 14 weeks ago, they were the only 2 in the flock.

Any advice would be much appreciated

(Pictures of hen and eggs below)

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like your Marans hen is having a reproductive illness. I had a hen once who laid a very bloody egg over a few months. I sold eggs then and gave many to friends and family, and I had to keep all of her eggs. Eventually, she stopped laying altogether. A friend took her and some extra roosters for processing, so I don’t know if she would have died from a reproductive disorder or not. This is what her eggs looked like in the beginning, and they became more bloody later:

 

[LeaPea]

Her 'regular' eggs often have a bloodspot, but I thought this was normal. Just a strange coincidence that both hens started experiencing major problems at the same time (despite different breeds/ages). I wish there was something I could do for her

 

[Eggcessive]

Meat spots are common and not a big deal, but if you continue seeing the blood, that is more serious. Here is a good article about this and other egg problems and possible causes:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/