Aww congratulations!
I have had two hens go broody this year and had the same concerns! Im still a fairly new chicken owner so I had no idea where to start. The first broody I had - I moved to a hutch on the floor of the coop so she wasn't taking up space in the nest boxes. She hatched her babies there. I tried to section her off from the other chickens thinking they would hurt the chicks or that my Rooster would kill them but they ended up seamlessly integrating. Its so fun to watch - the momma protected them and taught them everything. 5/7 hatched, the other two died while hatching. The first momma just weaned her chicks, they are about 7 weeks old and now she chases them away if they try to get her food. They are a part of the flock but they are low in the pecking order. They stick together and do just fine, the fab 5! Unfortunately I think 3 are rooster so they may be freezer camp birds this winter.
My second broody I left in the nest box and it was a lot harder to manage. Other chickens would kick her out ALL THE TIME. Other girls would be laying new eggs in the nest. I didn't mark the original 5 I gave her (DUMB MOVE) so I had a hard time keeping them straight and taking out newly laid eggs. On hatch day I actually was putting all the eggs in a bucket to toss them thinking it was a lost cause and I heard peeping from the eggs! WHOOPS. 3/5 ended up hatching, but one died when another chicken tried to get into the nest with them and squashed it. So terrible. But now the momma and babies (I call them Uno and Dos
) have a little nest spot on the floor and its the same. She takes them in and out of the coop, makes sure they are eating, keeps the bigger girls away if she thinks they are too close. She absolutely is not the best momma, my first broody was the best one I could have hoped for, but its working so far! These new little ones are only a few days old so we will see!
