Talk about Diet Diversity!!

I've been soliciting my friends, family, and co-workers to save their egg cartons for me.  The hens are laying more eggs than I have cartons for!  I think my hens must have overheard some of my conversations, and are attempting (in their own way, of course) to help me remedy the carton shortage I'm experiencing! 

When I turned the chickens out yesterday to forage, the lot of them went to the other barn & began pecking at the base of the building.  I went to investigate, to see what they could possibly be eating.  Turns out, they were eating the styrofoam insulation from underneath the siding.  You know the kind....busts up into little BB sized pieces??  Kinda like what's inside a "BeanBag" chair? 

Well, they were all eating that styrofoam as if it were some sort of delicacy! (The hens had a purpose in doing so....the roosters just ate it because they thought they were being left out!)  Now, personally, I've never eaten styrofoam, so can't speak with any authority on the matter, but just guessing.....I'd say it couldn't possibly have much taste! And the consistency of the stuff, compared to the grains the chickens are used to,  must really seem odd to them.....yet they were goin' at it like there was no time to lose! 

I can only assume that they are aware of the carton shortage & are ingesting the stuff  in an attempt at laying eggs, already cushioned in styrofoam!!  Granted, it would be rather difficult for ANY chicken to "lay" an entire carton (w/Lid), but WHO (other than a chicken)  would've ever considered individually styrofoam-cushioned eggs??  I can hardly wait to see the finished product!  This could really revolutionize the egg industry, folks!   (Of course, I'm sure the government will want to get involved, as well as the FDA, EPA, and all those other acronym Depts. that like to  "get a piece of the pie".)

Will this make eggs tougher & stronger?  Less easily cracked?  Will breakfast take longer to prepare, due to the tough new styrofoam eggs??  And how will this affect baby chicks trying to hatch out of their eggs??? (This will probably get P.E.T.A. on my *ss!)

I can see so many pros & cons of this new styrofoam egg thing!  I may need to have a real "heart to heart" with my chickens & let them know that, although I appreciate their wanting to help....they probably should just stay away from the styrofoam insulation, and let ME worry about the cartons!