Advice needed from OEGB breeders..broody hen vs brooder ?

[drogers81]

So I put 2 eggs from my show quality brown red OEGB hen, and 2 from my show quality OEGB lemon blue hen and put them under a broody hen who started setting on her own clutch of eggs at the same time..I mostly did this because incubator was full, and timing would not have been right for me to add them. Anyway, they started hatching last night, and just checked and 2 of the brown reds hatched, and for whatever reason the lemon blue eggs started to pip but I'm pretty certain they did not survive.

Anyway, should I remove the 2 brown red chicks and put them in a brooder, or let the hen do all the work? I'm only asking because the brown red chicks are smaller than her chicks, even though she is an OEGB and as well as her chicks. So I'm extra worried about them and want them to make it because they are healthy and moving around all over the place with the other chicks she hatched.

I have moved her to the garage with heat lamp, and lots of hay, and pine shavings in the brooder. I thought I would keep them in the garage for about a week or longer before I make other arrangements. I just don't want those 2 brown reds to die since they came from my show birds, and these are their first offspring.

What do you all think? Do any of you do this? She's an excellent broody, and a fierce mom when she has chicks.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Where do you live that you are giving them a heat lamp? You should not need one this time of year (generally not even in winter either unless the hen has more chicks than she can cover). I personally would leave them with the hen as long as their surroundings are pretty safe from predators. I also leave my mother hens with the flock but you know her flock mates better than I do.

Are they smaller because they are younger or are they runts?