We've been planning this trip to El Paso for awhile! Mark decided they wanted some chickens so they could have fresh eggs, plus their kids needed some chores. That meant, they also needed a place to keep them, so LaVerl built them a really nice chicken coup-- out of pallets and other stuff he had laying around!! Sometimes a bunch of junk pays off!
It took him all day on Wed. cutting all the pieces to build it. Thank goodness the wind was not howling!!
The bottom was the other side of this big sign board we had in the shop. The little nest box was cut from a big box that had 8 of these little cubby holes that we found up at Milligan in the 'bat room'.
He used lots of his old scrap lumber and tin.
The little screen thing is from racks of an old refrigerator.
He put it all together and then took it all apart so we could haul it to El Paso in the back of the pickup.
DAY -1
Thursday morning we loaded up! This was only part of what we took. We also loaded 5 huge bags of mulch or compost for the square foot garden box he also wanted. We loaded a box with 5 little baby chicks, a big chicken cage to put them in until they are big enough to put outside in the coup and LaVerl's big air compressor!! We were loaded!! We got out of town about 11:30, which would've been fine, but we forgot about the hour difference in time, El Paso is an hour later!!
Mark had got us all tickets for a dinner show at UTEP college at 6:30pm, so we were cutting it close!! The show was a live play of Fiddler on the Roof, my all time favorite movie!! It was really wonderful, the actors were great, we loved it!
We made it there by 5:30- time to spare!!
DAY- 2
So Friday morning LaVerl got the truck unloaded and then he and Mark started putting the chicken coup back together! They picked a spot the was kind of shady so it will be cooler in the summer heat!
They got started around 8:30am and worked ALL DAY!
LaVerl cut out a hole in the bottom and put another rack so when the chickens are on their roost, the poop goes out onto the ground!!
Kaemon, and Bolden and Zallen all watching/helping?
Milea inside playing on the computer. She loves watching kids cooking shows! She's quite the little cook too.
LaVerl had some old tongue and groove wood that worked great for the front side.
Building the roost, 2 different heights.
Gpa was feeling proud because little Wembley decided she liked him and would let him hold her!!
Finishing the roof and the back with tin.
We even filled the nests with grass, even though it will be 6 months before they start laying eggs!
Then it was on to the 'run'. They extended it over to their rock wall to give the chickens lots of nice room to roam.
Mark wanted a little gate to get in, a good idea!
Yeah!!! The finished project!! They put chicken wire all around the bottom too so they can go under the coup if it gets too hot.
It turned out really good!!
Then it was on to the grow box! That was easy!! Put 4 boards together and fill it with the compost!!
So FINALLY, around 9pm, we went to get some dinner!! They took us to 'State Line BBQ' and it was really yummy! They said that half of it was in Texas and half in New Mexico! Funny!
After that, at 10pm, we went to Bahama Bucks for shaved ice treats and it was yummy too!!!
OKAY, FOR THE BEST NEWS OF THIS WHOLE, LONG POST!!
While checking on the baby chicks, we found this little note inside the box they were in!! Of course, I was a little dense before I understood what it meant!!
Here she or he is, if you can figure that picture out!
DAY 3- Saturday morning soccer games!
I guess the sun was shining in all their eyes!
First Zallen's team played, they are the Red Dragons!
CUTE LITTLE KIDDOS!
Then Milea's team played at the same time as Kaemon's. She's #2!
LaVerl watched Kaemon's team, it was a couple of fields over. They won by 11 points! We decided to leave from the soccer games and head home! We heard a storm was coming and sure enough,
ITS RAINING RIGHT NOW!! YEAH!
We had a great time seeing Mark's little family and hearing about their wonderful news!
