The Fortress of Rabbitude is finished!!!!

One of my friends asked while I was building it if it was a double decker couch. I said, Of course! I am a Master Builder!! (Lego Movie reference for those of you not in the know).

I thought it up, sketched it out, struggled with the math (and I still got it slightly wrong but will be easy enough to drop the lower shelf), went to Home Depot and bought my supplies!!!! I had made the cage on the top before I made the shelf system and I had modified it to be like Grumpy's slanted access, which is perfect for the growouts. The bottom cage is 7 inches shorter than the top one (I ran out of wire and had to modify) but it still works with the shelf system.

The shelves are a 1/2 wider and longer than the cage themselves, and the cages inset into the shelf. The top cage is 24x49 grow out (the extra inch is in case I want to divide it into a 24x24) and has two doors. I took plenty of notice from folks here on RT about not being able to access all parts of the big cages!! Right now I've put 4 of the 6 babies into it today and plan to rotate them to mom til Saturday, which is when they'll be almost 5 weeks. Their mom is expecting a litter next week.

The lower cage is 24x42 with a 22x12 access door. This is great for my NZR doe who is expecting next week also!! I miscalculated the height for a 20" cage, so I'm going to have to drop the pan and side supports about two inches, but it can wait. I built the cage in place last night because I just wanted to get it done!!

Once the weather stops being in the single temps, I'm going to put lattice on the sides and will put a roof on it so it can go outdoors with the better weather. I want to hang some planters off the sides supports--marigolds or some other tasty treats. My workmates think that I overbuilt it (my son asked if I was building bunk beds) but I'm okay with that, it won't fall apart after a season (or four). I've got to figure out how to put a slanted overhanging roof on it.

Any suggestions for sealing/painting it???

The picture of Blinkers is for Marinea!! Blinkers is the baby in my avatar.

First off...Blinkers!! What a cutie.

The Fortress look great! I think the buns will be very happy. And you are going to be sooo glad you have lots of doors.

Building a slanted roof will not be hard. I think we used two 2x4" boards the length of the cage. We cut one of the 2x4s in half lengthwise. We stood both up on edge, and took two more 2x4s and put them at either end of the first two. We used a chalk to mark a line on each to cut them down at an angle so they would be the same height as the first 2x4s. We screwed those 4 boards together for a frame, and added corrugated plastic roofing. We screwed the roofing to the frame and done. You could add a support piece in the middle if you wanted.

(Now that made perfect sense in my head as I typed it. If you are scratching yours, wondering "What did she just say?", I apologize. I can take some pics if needed )

How much did it cost to make? Good job!

The cost was probably about $125 from Home Depot, but that was mostly from the metal anchors on the corners. I'm not very talented when it comes to figuring out what to screw where so I just bought the anchors and figured what I paid extra was time in my pocket!! The cages were built from three rolls of wire from Tractor Supply (about $60 total), but if I had to do it again, I think I would order specialty size from a cage maker, since the TSC wire is only 16 gauge and not 14. I have my doubts as to it's long term durability, I guess I'll find out.

Either way, I'm pretty proud of my creation and not too shabby for someone who hasn't been in shop or math class for 20 years!!!

Great Job!! :clap2: Fiona looks very happy.

Looks great!! I may end up doing something like that myself. I have to hurry and think of something soon, since I'm getting my granddaughter a 'pet' rabbit, or 2 for Easter. I don't think the wife would know that one was a doe and the other was a buck until it was too late, lol.

Great job. They very nice. :bow: :clap: