ckcs
Well-known member
With the addition of my 3 French Angoras I needed to expand my cages. Once I sell my REW Lionhead pair I really only need 1 more cage but heck why not have 3 so I have room to grow. I built 2 other 3 tier racks which can be seen here post190731.html?hilit=3%20tier#p190731
There were a number of problems that I had with my previous racks. First off the rack was made from 2x2 lumber. This works fine but it looking bad from the urine. I have no problem though with smell (all my cages are inside my house in or near the common areas). Next I made the cage so that the 2x2 are both on the outside edge of the cage and on the outside near the edge. This has prevented me from closing the rack in on 3 sides. Reason I would want to close it in is because I have to clean up urine too often when the rabbits miss the trays. The 1x4 urine/baby guards work well for the babies but need improvement in the urine department. Lastly the trays that I made from corrugated cardboard work fine but I wanted something a little more sturdy.
I thought long and hard about the new rack before I began construction. I knew I wanted to use the NIC panels again (14" square panels) as they are heavier than any wire and I had a bunch of them that I paid next to nothing for (100 panels for $8). I wanted to make the dimensions different too. My other racks are 28x28 and I wanted these to be 26x20. Reason is I wanted to use the cheap mixing tubs from Lowes and Home Depot. They are sturdy, deep, durable and cheap. As an added bonus they are tapered at the bottom so less bedding is needed. Also I didn't have to cut them like I did the corrugated plastic. Lastly I wanted urine guards that protected the corners, were tall and cut the angle between the cage floor and pans. That area is very problematic as urine goes through the opening too easily.
To construct the cages I used the 14x14 panels which have a 9x9 grid. I had to cut the panels to make the dimensions, which was easily done with a grinder and cut off wheel. 4 sizes were used 9x9, 9x8, 9x4 and 8x4. Everything is held together with zip ties. I looked for a stronger solution but didn't think jclips would go around the heavy wire. The zip ties have held up well for my other cages. The floors are made from 1"x1/2" wire. (Lowes sells 10'x30" rolls for $17, Ace has them for $20 and TSC $22).
I've include a few pictures of the urine guards. These were fairly easy to make. I bought a 10" x 50' roll of aluminum sheeting from Lowes ($29) and cut it with tin snips. Cut edges were lightly sanded. I bent them between 2 straight edge boards. The end size is 7" tall and 3" on the floor. The 2 side pieces are straight but the back piece is bent to go around the corners 1-1/2" on each corner. They are held in place with 4 plastic ties on each side piece. The back is held in place by the side pieces. I may have to tie it off later but for now it seems to work.
Use care when rooming the tape from the roll of sheeting. It really expanded fast and could pose a risk of cutting you. Use caution when cutting it too as the edges before sanding are sharp.
Here is a breakdown of the costs
Panels (didn't figure in their cost as I had them already)
Floors ($10.20 you can get 5 out of a roll)
3 pans ($18 Lowes, I like their pans better than Home Depot)
600 Ties ($7.62, $1.27 per 100 at Walmart, stocked in 2 spots each are different price)
3 Water Bottles ($11.04, not my favorite bottles but they work)
3 Crocks ($14.91 Walmart)
Urine Guards ($10.87, you can get 8 cages done with roll from Lowes)
$72.64 per rack.
My 9 weeks old French Angoras are in the cages right now. This is not their permanent home as I will be putting Lionheads in and moving the FA to 28x28 cages. The 20x26 cages are about 10% smaller than 24x24.
PS the FA's look dirty because they were just dusted with DE for possible Fur Mites
There were a number of problems that I had with my previous racks. First off the rack was made from 2x2 lumber. This works fine but it looking bad from the urine. I have no problem though with smell (all my cages are inside my house in or near the common areas). Next I made the cage so that the 2x2 are both on the outside edge of the cage and on the outside near the edge. This has prevented me from closing the rack in on 3 sides. Reason I would want to close it in is because I have to clean up urine too often when the rabbits miss the trays. The 1x4 urine/baby guards work well for the babies but need improvement in the urine department. Lastly the trays that I made from corrugated cardboard work fine but I wanted something a little more sturdy.
I thought long and hard about the new rack before I began construction. I knew I wanted to use the NIC panels again (14" square panels) as they are heavier than any wire and I had a bunch of them that I paid next to nothing for (100 panels for $8). I wanted to make the dimensions different too. My other racks are 28x28 and I wanted these to be 26x20. Reason is I wanted to use the cheap mixing tubs from Lowes and Home Depot. They are sturdy, deep, durable and cheap. As an added bonus they are tapered at the bottom so less bedding is needed. Also I didn't have to cut them like I did the corrugated plastic. Lastly I wanted urine guards that protected the corners, were tall and cut the angle between the cage floor and pans. That area is very problematic as urine goes through the opening too easily.
To construct the cages I used the 14x14 panels which have a 9x9 grid. I had to cut the panels to make the dimensions, which was easily done with a grinder and cut off wheel. 4 sizes were used 9x9, 9x8, 9x4 and 8x4. Everything is held together with zip ties. I looked for a stronger solution but didn't think jclips would go around the heavy wire. The zip ties have held up well for my other cages. The floors are made from 1"x1/2" wire. (Lowes sells 10'x30" rolls for $17, Ace has them for $20 and TSC $22).
I've include a few pictures of the urine guards. These were fairly easy to make. I bought a 10" x 50' roll of aluminum sheeting from Lowes ($29) and cut it with tin snips. Cut edges were lightly sanded. I bent them between 2 straight edge boards. The end size is 7" tall and 3" on the floor. The 2 side pieces are straight but the back piece is bent to go around the corners 1-1/2" on each corner. They are held in place with 4 plastic ties on each side piece. The back is held in place by the side pieces. I may have to tie it off later but for now it seems to work.
Use care when rooming the tape from the roll of sheeting. It really expanded fast and could pose a risk of cutting you. Use caution when cutting it too as the edges before sanding are sharp.
Here is a breakdown of the costs
Panels (didn't figure in their cost as I had them already)
Floors ($10.20 you can get 5 out of a roll)
3 pans ($18 Lowes, I like their pans better than Home Depot)
600 Ties ($7.62, $1.27 per 100 at Walmart, stocked in 2 spots each are different price)
3 Water Bottles ($11.04, not my favorite bottles but they work)
3 Crocks ($14.91 Walmart)
Urine Guards ($10.87, you can get 8 cages done with roll from Lowes)
$72.64 per rack.
My 9 weeks old French Angoras are in the cages right now. This is not their permanent home as I will be putting Lionheads in and moving the FA to 28x28 cages. The 20x26 cages are about 10% smaller than 24x24.
PS the FA's look dirty because they were just dusted with DE for possible Fur Mites
