Is there such a thing as 12 gauge cage wire?

I did a bit of a search but cant find any on the web so have started to wonder if it exists at all?

But with so many sore hocks I thought changing the floors of my cages to a really heavy gauge wire so it would be rounder and softer on the feet might give me a really long term solution to the problem. And a solution that stays cleaner than tiles and toilet tank lids do.

Thoughts? opcorn:

It exists but is not in demand (too hard to cut, too heavy, too costly when 14 should suffice) so difficult to find or requires a special order.

IMHO heavier guage wire is not the solution - I have my 8 to 12 pound rabbits on hardware cloth that is less than 16 guage without any sore hocks. My hardware cloth is placed over 4 x 2 inch spaced dog cage wire (I think 5 guage?) so it doesn't sag.

Dood":ne2hqcz8 said:

It exists but is not in demand (too hard to cut, too heavy, too costly when 14 should suffice) so difficult to find or requires a special order.

IMHO heavier guage wire is not the solution - I have my 8 to 12 pound rabbits on hardware cloth that is less than 16 guage without any sore hocks. My hardware cloth is placed over 4 x 2 inch spaced dog cage wire (I think 5 guage?) so it doesn't sag.

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Is there a sure fire solution to sore hocks then? Other than spending the next 5 or so years breeding for big, wide, heavily furred feet?

None of my NZs have feet issues and they weigh several POUNDS more than the Rex! :roll:

I notice Klubertanz offers vinyl-coated 1x1/2 14 gauge wire. No idea what that would make the overall gauge into. Quite expensive though at 3.78/ft for 24" to 5.34/ft for 36".

GBov":1uocpske said:

Is there a sure fire solution to sore hocks then?

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One of the Rex I am bringing to Convention had some hair loss on his hocks- they weren't bleeding or anything, just a small (1/4") area of dry looking skin. I have been applying Vetricyn Opthalmic gel to them and the fur started growing back within a couple of days.

Sometimes I think the hocks get a secondary bacterial or fungal infection especially if you are using misters in the summer or live in a humid environment. Using Nu-Stock or Blu-kote on more severe looking cases is a better option in my opinion.

Switch to solid bottoms and litter boxes.

I doubt it would take 5 years (10 generations) to improve feet, probably only 2 or 3

I tried making floors from 1/2 inch conduit [EMT] once, with 5/8 inch space between pieces, -it worked pretty good, I may try that again here, as it almost never got clogged up, and was very easy to clean, [esp. for someone who feeds a lot of weeds, and greens] - it also provides a lot of support for feet. - I am trying to remember the down side of this method,as I am sure there is one-- has anyone here ever tried this? -- I have a lot of cleaning to do - because dirt , weeds, and poop get matted in the 1/2 x 1 flooring and are a pain to get cleaned out.-- [I may start a thread about this to get some feed back ,as I can't remember exactly how well it worked, and some one else may provide some good points]

The reason I thought about the 12 gauge wire is because one cage at 4H has a heavy metal rod type bottom and the rex I put in there had fine feet after about a week on it with no extra care.

He wasn't very bad to begin and not in any noticeable pain with so it was an experiment to see if simply changing the bottom would make enough of a difference to justify such a radicle change in my cages. And it did work! His feet are now fine.

I have kept all my rex with fair to good feet (and my rex x French angora crosses who have fantastic feet) and plan to breed for good feet but if the floors helped keep them comfortable as well, it would be good for all of them. The mess on the tiles is unbelievable! :shock: Its like they will only "go" on the tiles, despite my trying to place them where they DONT "go"! And of course, with wet poo on tiles comes wet mucky feet comes bad hocks, in a nasty cycle I hope to break.

This next move is into our forever home and the rabbitry built there will be the one I have for the rest of my rabbit keeping days so I want it to be perfect both for me and the buns. One long row of cages with a raised bed built behind them that their underground nest boxes and resting tunnels will be built into. When all that is being built it might be the best time for a cage bottom rebuild as well so rabbit keeping will be all fun again instead of the stress of who is going to be bad today when I check feet. :roll:

Old post.
Were you able to find 12g?
I want it bc it will last far longer than the others. Have 14 that is rusting apart and it sucks.

Anyone try slats instead or plastic slatted panels?

I plan to make some cages with plastic slatted panels, but that may take a few months yet.
Part of the problem is i need trays under them and finding fitting combo's is a pain.

GBov said:

Is there a sure fire solution to sore hocks then? Other than spending the next 5 or so years breeding for big, wide, heavily furred feet?

None of my NZs have feet issues and they weigh several POUNDS more than the Rex! :roll:

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Do you keep nails trimmed? Nails too long affects what part of the foot they rest on and can result in sore hocks.

I used these shelves as my floors, the bars are a little too wide for kit feet but there is zero sag. I am not a small woman and I can climb in and sit in my cages to do repairs. They do rust eventually, but not in a structural way. Nothing but stainless steel holds up to rabbit urine.

My kits learn to stay above the wire pretty quick once they leave the nest though, so it doesn't seem to be a problem, but you could top with normal cage floor...They are expensive, but I was lucky and got a bunch for free, watch your local craigslist. No sore hocks, even in my ancient doe, who is a bit on the bony side these days.

GBov said:

Is there a sure fire solution to sore hocks then? Other than spending the next 5 or so years breeding for big, wide, heavily furred feet?

None of my NZs have feet issues and they weigh several POUNDS more than the Rex! :roll:

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My Rex mixes don't seem to have problems with their hocks. I have tiles in their cages when I don't have (pine) nesting boxes in. The two does can hop up on the tops of the nest boxes. I made the tops big enough for that (which also helps keep in the warmth).

As for the tiles, It took a while, but by moving them around, I finally figured out where to put them, so they stopped being a problem. I have left-over 16" floor tiles, so that's what I give them.