Do you sell cages for additional income?

[Mele]

Hi everyone. Sorry if this in in the wrong forum or not allowed . I'm working on getting my first rabbits in a long time set up but I bought a ton of wire and have lots left over to make cages that I won't have room to fill. So I am wondering if any of you sell cages for supplemental income, and how you price them.

The ones I made for myself are 24"x30", made of good quality 1"x2" and 1"x1/2" wire. I figure, not counting all the tools I had to get in order to assemble them and the time involved, they cost me about $12 for each hole or a little less.

In my area you can get one 24" by 24" all wire cage at the feed stores for 50$. I have not seen any cages for sale that either aren't a) beat to smithereens or b) too small or c) made of chicken wire and/or vinyl coated stuff. If there had been decent quality cages available around here I would have just bought them up, but I had to go this route so I'm trying to make the most of it.

 

[Marinea]

Welcome to RT, Mele!

I think you have a few options. Me, I would hold on to the wire for a bit, because I could always use just "one more" cage.

If you are going to be selling kits, you could sell a complete set up- kit and cage. Maybe add a J-feeder and a water bottle.

You could also just sell the cages on something like Craigslist- if you decide to go that route, my suggestion would be to hold off on making any cages, and just advertise cage making in general. That way, if someone wants a specific sized cage, you're ready to go. The next time I add to our cages, I think that's the route we will be taking, rather than making our own. As far as prices, I would find other cage makers in your area, and look at their prices.

 

[Mele]

Thanks Marinea! I hadn't thought of selling the package deal "kit and kaboodle" LOL! What a wonderful idea. Especially for first time bunny owners, kids, etc. I could include the feeder and waterer; maybe even a bag of food and a care pamphlet as well once I get that up and running.

That's also a great idea to market cage making rather than pre made cages. I know I have a weird set up right now and I'm sure there's others who need funky shaped cages to cram into their rabbit barns. I have been scouring craigslist for cages since December and haven't found any that sold decent or custom cages, but as I'm looking for stock I'm meeting rabbit people who might can tell me more about that kind of thing around here.

I think I'll take your advice and just hang on to the wire a bit. My fingers need a rest anyways and I can poke around a bit and do more local research. You really got my wheels turning though. Really appreciate your input

 

[RothsRabbits]

I make cages to pay for feed and buy rabbits. Although I am done on buying no that I have what I want. So now just rabbit food!

 

[ckcs]

I have thought about selling cages with the baby bunnies that I sell to the pet market. I can often find store bought cages at yard sales for $5-10 a piece. This past year I picked up 4 or 5 but am holding onto those for emergency cages.

I make cages to pay for feed and buy rabbits. Although I am done on buying no that I have what I want. So now just rabbit food!

Those are some neat looking cages there. I love the clean design of them. I'm not sure by the picture but are the floors solid?

 

[RothsRabbits]

No they are 1x1/2 floors. Built with angled corners, sides and floor plates to try and keep rabbits from chewing. About 95% effective. Sealed with food grade materials, so no nasty build up of anything. It stays pretty dang clean and can be hosed down if needed. It's cheap and easy to build so I sell quite a few to people looking to get started. A lot of homes here don't have places for people to keep rabbits so they get these and rabbits from me.


CKCS - a product i found for making old cages(CL finds)new is a spray on galvanizing paint from rust oliuem. works great, just clean the metal good. makes them brand new again.

 

[ckcs]

No they are 1x1/2 floors. Built with angled corners, sides and floor plates to try and keep rabbits from chewing. About 95% effective. Sealed with food grade materials, so no nasty build up of anything. It stays pretty dang clean and can be hosed down if needed. It's cheap and easy to build so I sell quite a few to people looking to get started. A lot of homes here don't have places for people to keep rabbits so they get these and rabbits from me.


CKCS - a product i found for making old cages(CL finds)new is a spray on galvanizing paint from rust oliuem. works great, just clean the metal good. makes them brand new again.

Thank for the tip about the rustoliuem. There are a couple of people around here that build hutches but I don't think they look too nice. They are largely 2x4 construction which is fine but they don't look like they were put together very well. They remind me a lot of the 2x4 cheap aquarium stands. Yours look wonderful.

 

[jimmywalt]

No they are 1x1/2 floors. Built with angled corners, sides and floor plates to try and keep rabbits from chewing. About 95% effective. Sealed with food grade materials, so no nasty build up of anything. It stays pretty dang clean and can be hosed down if needed. It's cheap and easy to build so I sell quite a few to people looking to get started. A lot of homes here don't have places for people to keep rabbits so they get these and rabbits from me.


CKCS - a product i found for making old cages(CL finds)new is a spray on galvanizing paint from rust oliuem. works great, just clean the metal good. makes them brand new again.

How do you best clean the metal before using the spray on paint?

 

[Marinea]

I'm obviously not RR, but we use a wire brush wheel attached to a grinder. Then I just wipe it all down with a clean cloth.

All of our cages (so far) are made of metal frames with the wire welded into place. All of the cages have been painted.

I will add this- if you are going to paint, use Rustoleum. We found the shade of pink paint we wanted for our doe cages, but it was another brand (a well known brand). I will be repainting it shortly with a Rustoleum paint. Our bucks' cage, painted with Rustoleum, still looks great.