Hanging Cages

[Bad Habit]

Alright, shed has been cleaned for the 3rd time this year. Getting things in place to ultimately install hanging cages in the shed. My mom and I were looking at the shed, trying to decide the best way to hang the cages and realized neither of us really has any idea how to do it...

How do you hang cages? What's the best way to do it? I plan on hanging 3 of them, using corroplast and tarps between levels to collect waste.

Sorry for the beginner question, I know some members will find this boring and irritating, but I know some of you are nice enough to tolerate my inexperience.

 

[Marinea]

I don't have hanging cages, but I saw someone who had threaded a metal rod through the fronts of theirs for added support and it seemed like a really good idea. Hopefully, the person who has that will post.

And yay for a big project like shed cleaning being done!

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

I don't hang mine, I bolted them to wooden "legs" and they stand free within my lean-to. Gonna be rebuilding my lean-to soon so it is a part of the bolted-on legs.

 

[Bad Habit]

It was a pain in the rear, lol. My sister put a dresser in the shed, and it was warped and you couldn't get the drawers open. My mom and I smashed them open and out, and found basically the entire record of my niece between birth and about 4yrs of age in there. Tons of pictures, artwork and other such stuff. Kind of sad that my sister didn't even bother to clean out those things before abandoning the dresser. But fun for us to find and go through it all.

The floors of the cages I'm planning on hanging are stretched steel, so I don't know that they'd really need extra support. I have two of the cages in use, and there isn't any bowing or bending even when there are rabbits in the cage bouncing around like that.

 

[DonnerSurvivor]

I hung mine with cables. one cable over the rafters and attach it to the front and back of the cage do the same to the other side of the cage, I then took old PVC I had laying around and ziptied it to the tops of the cages so they were all connected this made them rock solid. In my new shed I am going to do the same thing except attach the cables to clips then clip the cages up so they are easier to remove.

 

[grumpy]

Here's a pretty good pic on my way of hanging cages.
A level 2X4 spans the length of the back. It's attached to the uprights.
I just use large nails driven at an angle to set the cages on.
The fronts of the cages have 1/2" electrical conduit ran along the top.
They're secured with heavy-duty zip-ties. There's no sagging if you do this.
You can see the guy-wires going from the fronts of the cages up to the
board on the ceiling. It's just standard baling wire.
You'll need a level to make sure the cages are level from front to back.
I hope this helps you out.

Grumpy.

 

[Bad Habit]

Thanks Grumpy!!!

What's electrical conduit? What is that for?

 

[grumpy]

Thanks Grumpy!!!

What's electrical conduit? What is that for?

If you look at most rabbitrys, you'll see the cages 'sagging'.
That electrical conduit will prevent that and give a nice eye-appeal
to your set-up.
Just zip-tie it in the front up against the top.
It'll help keep your cages straight and not allow them to deform.

grumpy.

 

[Bad Habit]

Okey dokey! I guess I should fish that piece of rebar out of the pile going to the dump... that'll work too, right?

And just sticking them on big nails works to keep them on the wall? If you're using baling twine, it can't be taking too much of the weight, can it?

 

[grumpy]

Okey dokey! I guess I should fish that piece of rebar out of the pile going to the dump... that'll work too, right?

NOPE: That re-bar will 'react' to the galvanizing on the wire causing it to degrade. You might want to stick with the conduit.

And just sticking them on big nails works to keep them on the wall? If you're using baling twine, it can't be taking too much of the weight, can it?

You'd be surprised how much weight that wire can withstand. I know I was. I've hung hundreds of cages this way and have never had one fail.

Grumpy

 

[Bad Habit]

lol I was thinking about that after I posted... I mean baling twine holds 40lb bales together, and I sling em around like they're nothing.

What is electrical conduit then? I had assumed it was metal.

My mom suggested I use screw in hooks, those would work too?

 

[grumpy]

What is electrical conduit then? I had assumed it was metal.

It's a 'pipe' if you will...a thin-wall pipe that electric lines are ran through.
I use the 1/2" diameter size. They come in 10 foot pieces.
Yes they are metal and galvanized.

My mom suggested I use screw in hooks, those would work too?

Yes, screw hooks would work. A heavy 16 penny nail is what I've used for years.
I'm a tightwad and don't like to spend anymore money than necessary.

 

[Bad Habit]

lol well the screw in hooks are pretty cheap - I think 69c each, and I won't need many.

Mom says she knows what the electrical conduit is, she showed me some of the plastic stuff that she had in the garage.

Thanks for all your help, grumpy, you've basically designed my rabbit shed for me I'll have to dedicate the building to you when it is done!

 

[OneAcreFarm]

lol well the screw in hooks are pretty cheap - I think 69c each, and I won't need many.

Mom says she knows what the electrical conduit is, she showed me some of the plastic stuff that she had in the garage.

Thanks for all your help, grumpy, you've basically designed my rabbit shed for me I'll have to dedicate the building to you when it is done!

Electrical conduit is basically a galvanized pipe that wires can be run thru. NOT plastic, there is a difference. You can get it at Home Depot or Lowes and it is pretty cheap. We used it for ours, here are some pics....

 

[Bad Habit]

Well, the stuff my mom had said conduit right on it Probably just used for different things.

Yours are hung by the electrical conduit, OAF? That's a good idea too I am not sure it is right for my space, or for having multiple cages like I intend to. My shed is pretty small.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Well, the stuff my mom had said conduit right on it Probably just used for different things.

Yours are hung by the electrical conduit, OAF? That's a good idea too I am not sure it is right for my space, or for having multiple cages like I intend to. My shed is pretty small.

Yes, there IS plastic electrical conduit, but you would not use it to hang cages. You need something rigid, which is why metal electrical conduit is used. You can use it in a small space too, just like Grumpy said, by using it to support the front of your cages. The conduit spreads the load out equally across the wire instead of having single points of attachment to the wire, allowing the wire to bend and sag. Here is a closer look:

 

[Bad Habit]

Well, I had my thinking all wrong, lol. So I run the wire to hang the cages through the conduit, which actually makes a lot more sense than how I was understanding it. The uprights don't need to go through conduit though, do they? I can just use the wire to attach to something at the top in the rafters?

Maybe I'll have to dedicate it to both grumpy and OAF if this keeps up, lol.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Well, I had my thinking all wrong, lol. So I run the wire to hang the cages through the conduit, which actually makes a lot more sense than how I was understanding it. The uprights don't need to go through conduit though, do they? I can just use the wire to attach to something at the top in the rafters?

Maybe I'll have to dedicate it to both grumpy and OAF if this keeps up, lol.

You can either run it thru the conduit or you can just attach the wire to the conduit. If you look at my pic above, we used plastic coated galvanized cable to hang ours and it loops around the conduit.