Broody hen and incubation: separate or leave with flock

[Yuki]

Hello. My two year old Brahma is hatching eggs for the first time.this is a first for me to. Do I leave her with the others or separate. The others are in coop at night where the eggs are.the eggs are due to hatch June 6th. What do I do.

 

[Camellia]

Usually, the hen will do a rather good job protecting her eggs, so there isn't a need to move her. But, It really depends on how high she is in the pecking order. If she's pecked at constantly you should definitely relocate her.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

If possible, you should move her to a secluded area that’s nice and quiet and dark, but has close access to food and water. I had two go broody on 2 May. One is the top hen and the other is at the bottom of the pecking order. The top hen, Goldie, is still sitting in her nest box. The lower ranked hen, Blue, got kicked out of her nest box so often that the eggs died and she lost interest.

I’m lucky in that both of my girls are friendly and never got POed with me. The worst behavior was a little clucking, some puffed up feathers, and touching my hand with her beak. No hissing, no pecking, no drama Mamas!

 

[Yuki]

Oh my goodness. Thank you guys for the advice so quickly. I'll keep her with hens but have it be dark and close to food and water. But what abt at night.Do I keep her separate.

 

[Shadrach]

As @Camellia writes, if your hen is confident and had chosen the coop as her nest site then there isn't a better arrangement. You do need to make sure she gets off the nest every day to eat, drink, defecate and exercise. You also need to make sure that other hens are not laying where she is sitting. Get a marker and mark her eggs and remove any additions.
The only other problem you may have, although it's rare ime is a senior hen may drive her off the nest. If your hen is the senior hen then this isn't going to happen.
The benefits of having a hen sit and hatch in her flock coop are many; fewer integration problems, better adjusted chicks, no broody coop arrangements to make and she has company.

 

[Shadrach]

Oh my goodness. Thank you guys for the advice so quickly. I'll keep her with hens but have it be dark and close to food and water. But what abt at night.Do I keep her separate.

Try not to feed her in the coop. It's much better if she gets off the nest and goes outside. Most hens will do this naturally. You just need to check.
No it doesn't have to be dark. There is evidence that eggs exposed to daylight have better hatch rates and better adjusted chicks. You need only think that in 'natural' conditions her nest would be outside and while hidden would receive light.

 

[Yuki]

She is a shy and docile bird she may get shoo off eggs any suggestipns for that

 

[Shadrach]

She is a shy and docile bird she may get shoo off eggs any suggestipns for that

If that happens then it might be best to provide her with a broody coop.
However, you need to bear in mind that a hen who cannot/will not defend her nest is unlikely to be able to defend her chicks once hatched.
There is some wisdom in only letting your senior hens sit and hatch. There are reasons why they are senior and the benefits of that seniority both social and genetic get passed on to the chicks.

 

[Yuki]

My 2 five year old hens are not Broody that is the problem. One of my5year old chickens had cancer and is in the process of dying... Or also knownc state of decay.

If that happens then it might be best to provide her with a broody coop.
However, you need to bear in mind that a hen who cannot/will not defend her nest is unlikely to be able to defend her chicks once hatched.
There is some wisdom in only letting your senior hens sit and hatch. There are reasons why they are senior and the benefits of that seniority both social and genetic get passed on to the chicks.

 

[Shadrach]

My 2 five year old hens are not Broody that is the problem. One of my5year old chickens had cancer and is in the process of dying... Or also knownc state of decay.

I'm sorry to read this. I've recently had one of my eldest hens 9+ years old die of reproductive disorders and I found it very upsetting.
Take a chance is my advice. I have had lots of hens sit and hatch in their tribe coops without problems. I have had occasional nest abandonings for various reasons but all the hens go broody here, some more often than others.
I really dislike the broody coop arrangement. I have hens that will use an unoccupied coop for sitting and hatching, but I don't restrict them in any way. Keeping a watchful eye on what is going on is usually sufficient.