I saw the earlier thread but I think this circumstance is a little bit different. We have 3 4 week olds pullets, and are in the process of building thier coop. The 3 girls stay in an xlarge pet crate outside by day and an indoor one (in garage) at night. I have been desperately trying to find a buff orpington in my area to buy with no luck, until this morning. I haven't picked her up yet but I am wondering if integrating the 3 who are used to each other with the new one will be a problem? I can already see some issues the 3 have with eachother possibly trying to work out a pecking order. One of the girls (white PR) will take food from the other 2 (RIR) or they will fly up and flap their wings at eachother and stuff. They are always trying to lay/roost in the same spot and if one finds something interesting the other 2 have to have it. Im afraid that since the buff is more docile and the newest one I would think she would be more at risk of being picked on. The idea I came up with to try to give the Buff a boost in the pecking order is to put her in the coop first for a day or so and let her settle in, then add one of 4 week olds and let them get used to eachother before introducing the next one? I believe the Buff will be 5-9 weeks old when I get her so she will have that in her favor but does the slight age difference mean anything? Any advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated
