Will coop mate harm Broody’s batch

[QChickieMama]

My broody has 7 fertile eggs ready to hatch this week but there’s another hen that shares her pen. What behavior can I expect from this hen when the chicks hatch? I don’t have another pen to put the extra hen in.

 

[DobieLover]

My broody has 7 fertile eggs ready to hatch this week but there’s another hen that shares her pen. What behavior can I expect from this hen when the chicks hatch? I don’t have another pen to put the extra hen in.

Separating her should not be required. The broody should continue to have access to the flock, feeder and waterer.
Is it just the two hens?
If so, she will likely be highly tolerated by the broody as they would be strongly bonded.
If you haven't done so already, put out chick starter, Flock Raiser or All Flock (in crumbles) for the hens now. Put out a container of oyster shell for the layer(s).
How much space do you have in your setup? Broodies do need space to work with.

 

[RoosterML]

I no longer separate any birds. Many hens will jump into the nest with a broody hen. Adding more eggs to her clutch. The biggest downfall to not isolate the broody from the rest of the flock is with all the moving around they sometimes crush an egg.

 

[QChickieMama]

Separating her should not be required. The broody should continue to have access to the flock, feeder and waterer.
Is it just the two hens?
If so, she will likely be highly tolerated by the broody as they would be strongly bonded.
If you haven't done so already, put out chick starter, Flock Raiser or All Flock (in crumbles) for the hens now. Put out a container of oyster shell for the layer(s).
How much space do you have in your setup? Broodies do need space to work with.

Yes, it's just two of them in this pen. The non-broody has been adding eggs to the nest, but I take them out each day since they're not sharpie-marked. I did put in a dish of soaked pellets but they don't stay fresh for long. Good reminder on the oyster shell.

It's not a big pen at all. Houses 4-5 hens, has 2 nesting boxes, a roosting space and a tiny bit of ground area. I'm planning to put the chick feed in the 2nd nest box and hope they find it there. The adult feed is on the first floor, down a ramp. I think if the chicks tumble down there, they should be ok until I can put them back.

 

[QChickieMama]

I no longer separate any birds. Many hens will jump into the nest with a broody hen. Adding more eggs to her clutch. The biggest downfall to not isolate the broody from the rest of the flock is with all the moving around they sometimes crush an egg.

Yeah, this did happen yesterday. Kinda sad. But I've crowded two other pens to get this pen down to just two hens!

 

[DobieLover]

Yes, it's just two of them in this pen. The non-broody has been adding eggs to the nest, but I take them out each day since they're not sharpie-marked. I did put in a dish of soaked pellets but they don't stay fresh for long. Good reminder on the oyster shell.

It's not a big pen at all. Houses 4-5 hens, has 2 nesting boxes, a roosting space and a tiny bit of ground area. I'm planning to put the chick feed in the 2nd nest box and hope they find it there. The adult feed is on the first floor, down a ramp. I think if the chicks tumble down there, they should be ok until I can put them back.

Nope. No adult feed. The mother will feed them and all the available feed must be chick starter, All Flock or Flock Raiser. No layer feeds. Hence the need for oyster shell.
The mother will take them out of the coop to the run. I strongly recommend you give them more space.
If the mother cannot get her chicks back into the coop, she will attempt to bed down with them on the ground. Is your run predator proof?