Mama hatched chick amongst the covy

[StoneyAcreFarm]

I've got a pretty large covy (40ish birds). Recently I've had two females turn broody for the 1st time. They both have a fairly large clutch of eggs (16 and 28). We woke this morning to a newly hatched chick, barely alive, a good distance from either nest. We grabbed him and placed him in a brooder. This afternoon, we had a 2nd chick that was still close to the mother. My kids snatched it and put it with the other chick. I would love to keep the chicks with the mom, but is there anyway to move the eggs and mom and not disrupt her from doing her job? Would there be much of a success rate in moving the two broody hens, the two nests and the two chicks to a separate area away from the other adult birds who are not keen on the new chicks?

 

[Susan Skylark]

Could you put a temporary fence or partition up around the broody hens along with feed and water and fence out the other birds rather than risk moving them?

 

[CliftonQuail]

Could you put a temporary fence or partition up around the broody hens along with feed and water and fence out the other birds rather than risk moving them?

I second that suggestion. If you've got the room, I think it would be better to leave the broody hens and eggs alone and keep the other birds away.