About whether ya should brood the chicks or let her ? I usually incubate my eggs but sometimes let a hen bate em ( their hatch rate is usually higher), but I always brood my chicks in a 4'x4' brooder box with a 150 watt lamp (' in the summer I use a 100 or 60 watt depending on how hot it is). A little more work but so much safer to me. I do havea separate pen next to the main flock for reintegration though. It's usually an individual thing weighing the work you can commit to and the value of your chicks to ya, and conditions you're set up for.
Perhaps next time, I'll sequester my buff for a couple of days and collect her eggs that way.
