Sisters Emily and Catriona Lynch were disappointed to find a cocky thief had made off with a carton of their eggs last week, leaving only a shopping docket in the honesty box outside their home on the Princes Highway between Milton and Ulladulla.

The girls work hard to help clean and feed their family’s hens and ducks and collect the eggs daily.

They said they were always excited to count their takings from honest customers who paid $5 for a dozen eggs, but were angry that someone would steal their produce.

“It’s disappointing, because we’re the ones feeding the chooks, looking after them and collecting the eggs,” 12-year-old Emily said.

Their mum, Corrine, said this was not the first time her free-range eggs had vanished from the old fridge where they are stored in her front yard.

“I try to teach my kids to be honest and work hard, but what sort of an lesson are they learning here?

“I tell them you can’t get something for nothing, so they help out around the place – we each have our jobs to do looking after the animals,” she added.

“At the end of the day we would like our kids to believe that all people are honest.

“To see this happening is most disappointing.

“Enough already.”

Corrine spends about $100 a week on pellets for more than 40 hens plus a large flock of ducks and she has to sell 20 dozen eggs just to cover the food.

The flock produces up to three dozen chook eggs and a dozen duck eggs each day.

Her girls pitch and help – even their friends get their hands dirty during play dates – and the children are rewarded for their efforts with pocket money that, during the school holidays, is often spent in Funland.

Corrine knows of other people in the area that have had bags of horse and cow manure stolen and she is hoping the thieves will think twice before doing it again.

“They need to know it costs money to raise hens and all I would like is a few dollars back for providing the locals with free eggs,” she said.

“I would hate have to stop putting my eggs out.

“People get so excited when my chooks start laying because they love being able to buy fresh eggs.”