Third Face Lift on the Egg Mobile

We've made some great improvements to our Egg Mobile, and I thought it would be good to share what we’ve done! Since we first built this setup in 2014—using an old camper trailer frame—we’ve made upgrades every few years. I'll link to previous versions here, so you can see how it's evolved.

This year’s big improvement was putting in a new floor. First, I went ahead and gutted all the wire we originally had on the bottom. Over the years, we learned a lot about what doesn’t work. We tried chicken wire at first, but the ammonia from the chickens’ droppings burned right through it. Then, we upgraded to hardware cloth, which was better. But even then, the droppings wouldn’t fall through the wire to the ground as we’d hoped, and the ammonia started to wear it down too.

After researching, I found a guy who built his whole chicken coop with cement board, which got me thinking. I ended up choosing a type of Hardie board, which has polymer particles that make it more durable. If you’re not familiar, cement board is usually used as backing in bathrooms before installing tile. It’s waterproof, so it’s perfect for holding up to moisture (and chicken droppings). 

So, I took the Egg Mobile apart and noticed the floor didn’t have enough joists to support the Hardie board. I installed some 2x4s to reinforce it, and then started laying the boards. At first, I went with quarter-inch boards, but they cracked when I stepped on them. I doubled up, making it a half-inch thick, which worked great. I also ran the Hardie board up the walls about four feet to keep droppings off the walls.

It’s turned out really well and is so much easier to clean. I also added new roosts with hinges so I can lift them up when I’m cleaning underneath. I scrape off any droppings from the roosts with a small window scraper and then lift them to clean the floor. I don’t have a picture of this, but I think you get the idea. I also use a concrete mixing tub (you can find these at Lowe’s or Home Depot) by the door to collect the droppings, which I then add to the compost.

If anyone has questions, please leave a comment, and I’ll be happy to answer! Also, sorry that all the pictures are at the bottom. I would have liked to place them throughout the article, but this blogger platform has been a bit tricky to work with—doesn’t seem to have been updated much since I started using it back around 2005-2006.  

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!