Getting chicks for brooding hen

[Bocephus1]

Just joined BYC. Haven’t navigated the site yet. I have a few questions.
I only have 2 hens. 1 went broody. About to get 2 or 3 chicks to let her raise. That means I will have to isolate the 2nd hen. How well will she do not sleeping with the other? Heard they don’t do well alone. Actually she will stay in a separate structure Inside the run that I made but she shows no interest at this time (this will be her 1st night alone away from her regular nest).
Regarding the future mama hen, how long will I need to keep her cooped up in the small hen house? When can I let her out without the chicks? When can the chicks be let out of the nesting area? It is about 3’ x 3’ space. I suppose I’ll be keeping the mama hen cooped up there too an give her food & water. Is that right? When can the babies be big enough to go down the ramp to the lower section of the coop?

 

[AquaDuck]

Just joined BYC. Haven’t navigated the site yet. I have a few questions.
I only have 2 hens. 1 went broody. About to get 2 or 3 chicks to let her raise. That means I will have to isolate the 2nd hen. How well will she do not sleeping with the other? Heard they don’t do well alone. Actually she will stay in a separate structure Inside the run that I made but she shows no interest at this time (this will be her 1st night alone away from her regular nest).
Regarding the future mama hen, how long will I need to keep her cooped up in the small hen house? When can I let her out without the chicks? When can the chicks be let out of the nesting area? It is about 3’ x 3’ space. I suppose I’ll be keeping the mama hen cooped up there too an give her food & water. Is that right? When can the babies be big enough to go down the ramp to the lower section of the coop?

Welcome!
If you only have 2 hens, I'd try to let them go together with the chicks. Chickens are flock animals and pine when they're alone. One of mommy hen's jobs is to make sure the other adults aren't mean to her babies, so if the other hen isn't particularly aggressive it should work just fine. But it's good that you have a place to put her if things don't work out.

How long has the broody been sitting? She should be sitting for at least a week, preferrably two before you try putting chicks under her. The chicks must also be as young as possible, and not older than 2 days. Not all broodies will accept outside chicks, so have a contingency plan in case she doesn't want them. Getting fertile eggs to put under her is the safest way to give broodies chicks, but that's not always possible.

If she does, mom will want to go outside with the babies after a day or two. The babies should follow down the ramp by themselves, as they don't wanna be left alone. If she's a good mom she'll stay on the ground and not go back into the elevated nest.

There are several good articles on broodies here, like
Guide to letting broody hens hatch and raise chicks

 

[Bocephus1]

I made a small “roosting“ structure a while back that they never really showed interest in and made it more sheltered then placed her nest in it. I then placed it fairly close to the main coop but not blocking my access to it.
Yesterday I bought 2 (3 - 4 day old) chicks and tried to slip them under the brooder last night around 11 PM. I found the 2nd hen perched on the outside of the structure I made for her & was overlooking the coop. She was awakened by me when the motion sensing light came on. The brooding hen was also not fully asleep. I tried slipping the chicks under her and retrieving the fake eggs but I failed at both. I then placed the chicks partially under her but mostly between her @ the wall.
This morning I went to check on them. The chicks were not under her but nearby. The brooding hen was still on the fake eggs. She got spooked and went to the lower section. I then took the fake eggs away. When she came back, she ruffled her feathers and began attacking the chicks which I then promptly rescued.
It appears I now will have to raise them which I wasn’t planning to do. Looks like I will now be looking for advice on BYC.
Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[AquaDuck]

I made a small “roosting“ structure a while back that they never really showed interest in and made it more sheltered then placed her nest in it. I then placed it fairly close to the main coop but not blocking my access to it.
Yesterday I bought 2 (3 - 4 day old) chicks and tried to slip them under the brooder last night around 11 PM. I found the 2nd hen perched on the outside of the structure I made for her & was overlooking the coop. She was awakened by me when the motion sensing light came on. The brooding hen was also not fully asleep. I tried slipping the chicks under her and retrieving the fake eggs but I failed at both. I then placed the chicks partially under her but mostly between her @ the wall.
This morning I went to check on them. The chicks were not under her but nearby. The brooding hen was still on the fake eggs. She got spooked and went to the lower section. I then took the fake eggs away. When she came back, she ruffled her feathers and began attacking the chicks which I then promptly rescued.
It appears I now will have to raise them which I wasn’t planning to do. Looks like I will now be looking for advice on BYC.
Thanks in advance for your advice.

Aww bad luck. Giving chicks to broodies is a tricky business. I once had one who accepted 2 chicks I put under her, but rejected the other 2 for no apparent reason. Go figure...

Good luck raising your chicks! I guess you have the essentials such as food and heat, so building a proper, good sized brooder would be first priority. Those little buggers grow fast!