can broody hens make other hens lay less frequently?

[yomama]

I have two Silkie hens that are currently broody. I have two nest boxes, which are now both occupied by both these girls. I've noticed that since they have become broody, I am getting alot less eggs from the other girls. None of my other hens are broody. Normally the two nest boxes are just fine for everyone, they all lay their eggs in them. However, I have now gone from getting 8 -10 eggs a day, to 3 -4. I'm able to pretty much tell who lays what, since they all have very different looking eggs. Therefore, from what I can tell, everyone is still laying, just not nearly as much. No one is molting, nothing traumatic has happened, and they have had a light on a timer in their coop giving them 12 -14 hours of light since day one. There are also no hidden eggs anywhere. They have a run and a small yard, so I would be able to easily find any "hidden" nests. This is the first time that I have had two hens broody at the same time, and using up both boxes. But obviously, it isn't stopping some of the girls from laying. And as many of us know, alot of hens will all cram themselves into one box at a time. Any ideas of what could be going on?
Thanks!

 

[Den in Penn]

I don't know if having to share a nest box with a broody is upsetting your hens and slowing them down, but it would upset me as fockmaster. If it was my situation I'd move one or both broodies to their own nest to brood in some out of the way place. But that's just me.