[ellied]

I have 2 bantams amongst mostly LF hens and cockerel.  The white one (lays cream eggs) went broody a couple weeks ago but on the eggs of the other one (a black that lays blue eggs) and was sitting 7 so I decided to let her have them since I've more eggs than I know what to do with anyway.

Then the black one joined her and they shared the eggs between them, but I spotted a couple of LF eggs in there and suddenly one of the brown Warren types is sitting too - the one that raised the one chick last year off a mix of Sussex and RIR hens' eggs rather than her own.

As of 2 days ago I now have 3 broodies sharing one nest in the barn, a place it's hard for me to get to to move them or check eggs.  I don't mind if they jobshare and raise a few chicks, but I don't have a broody pen big enough for 3 mums and maybe up to 10 chicks if any actually hatch.  I thought perhaps with 3 of them the chicks might have to manage free range in the barn, but reading another thread about rats taking chicks, I don't know if that's a good idea but not sure what else to do given all 3 are now very protective and I'd have to shift them all plus the eggs in a rare moment of darkness to somewhere I am not sure I have.  There is a wee pen I used for the one legged hen during the daytime, and she's FR now more or less and is put back in her own space at night, but it is on the ground and has gaps a rat could get in so I'm not sure I'd be doing the broodies favours confining them all there.  I certainly don't have 3 broody coops to split and divide the eggs either..

Anyone had 2-3 hens sharing brooding and raising chicks successfully?  Let alone FR amongst other hens and cats.. 

[in the hills]

  We are rather conventional. Have one broody, on one set of eggs, in the broody coop. Don't let them free range until they are fairly big and feathered. That way I hope our killer cat sees them as the flock as opposed to her dinner! Bit safer from birds of prey, rats, etc

However, the people with poultry around me are very relaxed about it all. Not sure that they have 3 broodies on one set of eggs .... maybe sometimes they do (!) but certainly they talk about retrieving mum and chicks once they hatch from high up in barns etc. and then they just take their chance in the barn and free ranging with the other birds. Not saying it's the best and I know that it's hit and miss. One neighbour raised no new hens last year ..... all the chicks kept disappearing. Other years he has raised loads. Most people around me do it that way.

You might be lucky and it work out. 

[shygirl]

this happened to us in our first year and we foolishly let them sort themselves out but when the eggs hatched ALL the hens wanted them, they ALL tried to sit on them and the chicks literally got squashed to death. so seperate them into their own hutches with their own eggs. the mothering instinct was really strong in our birds so even the non-broody ones were trying to steal the chicks.

[Steph Hen]

If they were mine I'd try to separate them, it sounds like some eggs were sat on and some of the LF eggs were laid later, so maybe it would make sense to put one bird on all the suspected latter laid eggs? As otherwise they may fight over the earliest hatched chicks and leave the others that are nearly ready to hatch to die.

 I'd be inclined to take one, maybe the warren type, and put her in a cage on grass to break her broodyness.
And split the others into two nests, even if they have to stay in the same shed. ebay have tiny rabbit hutches for £22, delivered, perfect size for a broody hen, search for "the bunny business".

I can't get at my eggs and birds in their hutches any more     I have a shepherds crook to pull out hens and roll eggs out to where I can just about pick them up. Not ideal, but does the job.

[Fleecewife]

We had two hens sitting on one clutch in the main hen house.  They were fine when the eggs hatched and appeared to be sharing the chicks.  We moved the lot into the polytunnel, into our largest rearing coop, which has a wire mesh floor to prevent rats burrowing up.  They appeared to share the chicks equally at first, but gradually one acquired them all and the other was left with none.  We took her out at that point, and by the time the other hen came out of the tunnel, the 'spare' mum had forgotten all about them.
I wouldn't leave them out without protection though as something's bound to get them.  We used our polytunnel for many broods of both chicks and muscovey ducklings, but discovered the need to have a mesh floor the hard way.  The coop was made by Mr Fleecewife, who's great at such things 

I would though second Steph Hen, to separate out the older eggs from those laid later, as they won't sit for more than a couple of days after the main lot hatch, but will just abandon the unhatched eggs, even if they're viable.  I would put each hen into a separate broody box or they will fight at some point with the result that eggs will be abandoned in the cold.  By separating them into two nests though there is the risk that the hen taken out of the original nest will not sit on her portion - it's a risk either way.
There were no late eggs added to our double-up clutch, so that problem didn't arise.