A Buff Family - lost and found?

Back in the fall of last year, we were given 3 Ameraucana chickens and a Buff Orpington. So, we had a fully mixed flock by then. This spring, the two leghorns were added. Today, we went and picked up 4 new Buff pullets who should lay in the next few weeks. The interesting part was the reaction of one of our existing chickens when we got home.

My younger son has always commented on how the chickens seem to segregate naturally. The tetra tints stick together. The brown chickens (Amers) stick together. Golden, the original Buff, was accepted by both groups and travelled back and forth between the two.

When the four new Buff pullets were put in the pen, the other chickens came and checked them out. The new pecking order was quickly established...then Golden came over and checked them out. You would have thought that Golden was reunited with her missing children. She flocked them up and kept them together. She would call to them. She would run off the other chickens and peck the others. She literally protected them. It was quite interesting to observe. I really think Golden knew these pullets were of her breed and recognized their type.