Building cages

Short of buying full rolls of wire, how is it economical to build your own cages?

Locally in the farm stores and hardware stores, they either don't carry the sizes or it is in short 10 ft rolls.

Ordering the wire from the big companies in partial rolls, the price is almost the same as I can buy the completed cages for.

Much of it is based on your cage design. I can buy a roll of 1"x2"x36" and a roll of 1/2"x1"x30" and make several cages in banks. I cut the 36" 1x2 in half, so my cages are actually 17" tall. This doubles the amount of wire and lowers my cost. I also build banks of cages. This saves the amount it would take for some of the side walls, plus all of the waste you get with each cut. since the cages are 30" deep, when I cut the wire for the tops, there is an extra strip. I use this to build my hay racks. You also need to compare the wire that you would be purchasing in a roll compared to the wire that would come if you were to purchase a cage.

I do agree that if you are building individual cages from Bass vs. their rolls of wire, the cost is comparable and you don't have to spend a lot of time cutting and you don't have the issue of miscounting and cutting in the wrong spot (which has happened a few times here when I hear, "Mom, mom, mom, mommy, mommaaaaaaa. Whatcha doing????").

I have bought the 1x2 at farm stores here and found that it isn't nearly as nice as that from Bass (haven't tried Klubertanz or any others, as the shipping from Bass is excellent) and it doesn't line up when counting the squares. Measuring is a must, especially if you are building banks.

The ONLY size I can find local is 2x1 x 24"

That really sucks. Maybe just by the cages then? and then you don't have to do the whole learning curve thing, either.

Thinking about that, buying the cages.

Wire for a long 3 hole would run $100 plus shipping.

3 cages is $120 plus shipping.

With current prices (Bass), a bank of 3 cages at 30x30 each would run roughly $70 plus shipping (based on 100' of 1x2 and 50' of 1/2x1) and you would have a little wire left over. If you order 3-30x30's from them, the cost is 86.10. The savings is only really worth it if you are planning on building several cages. The time cutting and bending is worth $ too, imo.

I thought about it as well, and the deciding factor was that it was worth more to me to pay a little extra to save the time and fustration of building them myself.

well, but then you get into making stacks, and the saving can really stack up, especially when you get much better quality than the cheap chinese wire the local lowes carries.

ChopSuey":2r9nwlm1 said:

I thought about it as well, and the deciding factor was that it was worth more to me to pay a little extra to save the time and fustration of building them myself.

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I actually enjoyed building my cage rows and racks.

I loved building cages, didn't love the slices and cuts I got building them (or actually, retro fitting them). The next day, the folks at the hospital thought I was a cutter! I had to explain to them those slices were merely rabbit related (and it didn't help I was nesting, tired, and getting ready for more rabbits!)

Um don't know where you are, either you have some killer deals or...
cages, except used are quite a bit more expensive, look at building a barn or shed full.... and it adds up quickly
When we raised rabbits in California in the 90's a 3 tier stack of quad cages for ND cost almost 1k a stack...
and you still have to assemble the cage, if you look at costing 40 for a 60' double cage and buying one at the feed store is 80 a hole...

yeah.
Oh and I get to put in urine guards, raise the food dish, chose where to put the feeders, what size of door if it's a kindling cage..

If you're going to need a small, limited number of cages, buy them. Trust me, there are plenty of companies out there who will cut and ship them directly to you and all you'd have to do is assemble them once they arrive.

If you're going to need a rather large number of cages along the way, buy the rolls, j-clips, and pliers and build them yourself. Yes, there would be a sizable up-front cost, but you come out well ahead in the long run.

Or, you could do like I did and just get a series of stackables. Great for space considerations.<br /><br />__________ Sat Jan 01, 2011 5:23 pm __________<br /><br />

Jack":sw4k065o said:

well, but then you get into making stacks, and the saving can really stack up, especially when you get much better quality than the cheap chinese wire the local lowes carries.

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^^^^What he said.^^^^ The chinese-made wire is crap.

I happen to really luck out when I first started. I was driving to work one day and saw a farm house with a couple cage rows out in front, overgrown with grass. I stopped on the way home and asked if they were interested in selling them. We ended up with 6 10' long cage rows, all with feeders and bottles for $100 plus some leftover wire rolls they had laying around!!

Be sure to check your local Craigslist and such for people getting rid of cages (pet AND farm sections). Look at online farm classifieds and such.

I bought the wire and built my own cages. I as able to put in some features of my own that make it easier for me, like a built in nestbox section that a nestbox slides in and out of, a shelf halfway up the cage so Momma can get away from the kits if she needs to, put the door where I liked, etc. I would probably have been modifying any cage I bought anyway so might as well build it the way I want to from the start. I bought some standard poo pans so that was an added cost. I built about 15 cages so the materials cost was ok but I didn't add my time into the cost. I like building stuff and figuring out how things go together so the time was enjoyable to me.

Truckinguy":2qpkgib4 said:

I bought the wire and built my own cages. I as able to put in some features of my own that make it easier for me, like a built in nestbox section that a nestbox slides in and out of, a shelf halfway up the cage so Momma can get away from the kits if she needs to, put the door where I liked, etc. I would probably have been modifying any cage I bought anyway so might as well build it the way I want to from the start. I bought some standard poo pans so that was an added cost. I built about 15 cages so the materials cost was ok but I didn't add my time into the cost. I like building stuff and figuring out how things go together so the time was enjoyable to me.

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Do you happen to have any pictures of your cages? They sound awesome!

Blair":3mf7o76k said:

The ONLY size I can find local is 2x1 x 24"

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Where in Pa are you? IF you are near the Ohio border, just south of the lake (or north of Pymatuming) Conneautville Farmers Supply has excellent prices on rolls, and even runs specials at times.