Thank you ladies!

Look what Peter found!  This is our very first egg and we have gotten at least one a day since then.  It was really good timing because I've been short on eggs since last week when a child dropped a whole dozen of our purchased eggs.

Not only did they give us eggs, but Judi was right, they've cleared a huge portion of our weeds as well!

We have since let them out into the over grown garden area and they are now busy at work on those weed (though it would probably require the work of 100 hens to get the job done there).

But more than anything else they have provided hours of entertainment for the kids.  I find them out there all hours of the day running with them, holding them, stroking them and even singing to them.  My favorite is when Maryanna claps her hands to "cupcake" (the latest name for the darker barred) and calls "come here girl" and as soon as the hen approaches Maryanna freaks out and runs away.  I also need to get Clara on video singing "Chiquitita".

I offered to catch a grasshopper for William to feed the chickens but he said that made him feel really uncomfortable.  He suggested we let nature takes its course, if a chicken wanted to eat a grasshopper they could catch it themselves (which I'm told they often do).  William asked me "how would like to be caught only to be hand fed to a larger creature"?  William spends the most time out there with them, he observes them for hours and could give a full report of their expected behaviors.  

Here's Peter in full costume enjoying the company of one of the hens.  

And even George finds his way into the mix.