The chickens need a coop and Grandpa offered to design and build one for us. So the whole crew went to work on the project. Grandpa was our fearless leader. One of the first lessons he ever taught the kids was...measure twice cut once.
While Grandpa and the kids were working on the coop, we made sure that the chickens approved of their soon to be new home. This is Sofie and she approves.
But she would feel more comfortable with some walls.
Alyssa washed the window and got it all ready to go.
But then she and Isaac decided it would make a great play house and they could pretend that the window was a drive up window.
I love seeing the boys working together.
Sofie just noticed there is no roof either. Just wait...it's coming.
Isaac was on the roofing crew. He is a heck of a shingle-nailer-upper.
So is Joel. He can pound a nail down in three hits. He's a show off.
Grandpa is very patient and taught the boys even more building and construction skills.
Nicko used his muscles to help out with the heavy lifting. Good thing we have some muscles in the family. Grandpa builds everything in the ultra heavy duty, designed to last a lifetime category. We like that. Joel decided that the safest place to be during the next tornado warning might just be the chicken coop.
More team work.
Daniel and Grandpa worked late into the evening finishing up the nesting boxes for the chickens.
I LOVE this picture.
This was Grandpa's thinking chair.
His thinking chair makes him happy.
We like his thinking chair too when he designs this for our chickens.
This is how we can get the eggs out when they get old enough to start laying eggs.
This little flap is how we will be able to clean the coop out and the little cut out will soon have a ramp for the chickens to get in and out of their coop.
Daniel was so impressed with the coop that he decided that he should try it out for the chickens. I wonder how many people can say they spent the night in a chicken coop...on purpose?
After Daniel gave the coop his seal of approval, we let the chickens go check out their new home.
They like it a lot. We know because we speak cluck.
We love our chickens so much.
The coop is missing a few things yet. The chickens need a roost to sleep on and a ramp to get in and out. They need a fenced in yard to keep them safe from predators. And the coop itself needs paint and a few decorations. :-) Working on the coop took the entire family and it is something that we will never forget doing. Thank you so much Grandpa. We all learned something new, we loved working with you and we enjoyed the process.
The chickens mentioned that this coop was way better than the second rate little pens that we had rigged for them so far. They can't wait to move in.
Stay tuned for chicken coop updates. I am already working on decorations. :-)