coyotejoe
Well-known member
I've avoided buying hay racks for my cages because I really don't have a lot of "disposable income" and the outhouse is rather tight quartets and I thought having things sticking out in front of every cage might become a hassle. I was just dropping hay on to the floor of the cages and when it was gone I'd drop more. Lots of hay got trample through the wire bottoms and into the drop pan but that was no big loss, a years supply of hay costs about as much as 50 pounds of pellets. What changed by mind was when I discovered a gross, putrid mass of feces and urine soaked hay hidden at the back of a floor level cage. Hay racks are not optional, to feed hay I needed racks.
This design was about the simplest and cheapest I could come up with, in other words, just what I wanted. The base material is 6" wide aluminum roof flashing. I had gotten a couple rolls to use as urine guards and had most of a roll left over. This is a very soft material and you don't even need tin snips, it cuts very easily with scissors, and is easy to fold in bare hands using a straight edge to keep folds straight.
First I cut out the metal as shown.
Then fold on the lines. To make the 1/2" fold I found it easier to clamp the metal to a straight edge in my vise and press the metal tightly over.
I then press the 1/2" fold fully closed with fingers, insert straightened wires into the fold and crimp the metal tightly over the wire, using the powerful leverage of channel lock pliers to get a tight crimp.
This is what the finished rack looks like.
And this is what they look like attached to cages.
This design was about the simplest and cheapest I could come up with, in other words, just what I wanted. The base material is 6" wide aluminum roof flashing. I had gotten a couple rolls to use as urine guards and had most of a roll left over. This is a very soft material and you don't even need tin snips, it cuts very easily with scissors, and is easy to fold in bare hands using a straight edge to keep folds straight.
First I cut out the metal as shown.
Then fold on the lines. To make the 1/2" fold I found it easier to clamp the metal to a straight edge in my vise and press the metal tightly over.
I then press the 1/2" fold fully closed with fingers, insert straightened wires into the fold and crimp the metal tightly over the wire, using the powerful leverage of channel lock pliers to get a tight crimp.
This is what the finished rack looks like.
And this is what they look like attached to cages.