Moving to the city, need advice on cages

[bigbrologan]

I will be moving to the city and I need advice on cages, what do I need to build a 6 hole, 2-level rabbitry type thingy where 2 cages are 24x30 and 4 cages are 30x30? Would it be cheaper to buy from a company such as Klubertanz, Bass, Koenigs? What do you all recommend, I'm in a developmental area and cannot have pens anymore So, I need to figure out what to do.

Thanks,
LOGAN

 

[ladysown]

you might want to make sure you are allowed to have rabbits, and if so, how many.

usually cheaper to build your own, but not always.
price out good wire and see if there is someone local who sells it and buy wire through them (as opposed to paying shipping fees)

I've seen GOOD rabbit cages built from old shopping carts, shipping crates and all sorts of things. So it is possible to have cages built inexpensively.

 

[bigbrologan]

I am allowed to have rabbits, I know that for sure.

 

[trinityoaks]

I am allowed to have rabbits, I know that for sure.

By the city and/or county (not just your mom or dad)? Even if they allow it, they may limit how many you can have, or the total number of animals/"pets" you can have.

I agree with ladysown--it's much less expensive to make the cages if you can purchase good cage wire locally.

 

[bigbrologan]

I'm in the city, but our backyard has like 40ft of grass, then a forest, and my stepdad works with the county and he made sure that I could have rabbits.

 

[rabbitgeek]

I prefer cages that are 24 inch from front to back. It makes it easier to reach into the corners of the cage.

A 24 x 30 inch dropping tray is easier to handle than a 30 x 30 inch tray. When using trays, easiest way to clean is to grab a plastic dust pan and scoop the droppings into a bucket. You can put a plastic bag in the bucket first. That way you can lift out the bag of bucket and set it aside until trash day or until you can put it in the compost pile. Tying the top of the plastic bags means you are locking out the flies.

If you add up all the costs of wire and doors and trays you may find that buying from most companies is about the same cost as building your own. So let them do the labor. If you can pick up to avoid shipping charges that would be even better.

Have a good day!

 

[HendricksHearth]

If I were you, I would double check your ordinances just to make sure and not take someone else's word on it. They may not even be the same by county and by city and better off safe than sorry later on IMHO. Some of the ordinances in various areas do not even really make sense- for example you might be able to have 20 rabbits, but if you breed 1 litter from them than you are classified as a breeder instead of a livestock owner/pet owner and can't have more than 3 adults. You can look many of them up at the site below and you can search for terms like rabbits, breeders, pets, livestock, etc.:

http://www.municode.com/library/library.aspx

I also like 24" deep cages and the bucket with plastic lining is a great idea for droppings. If you have a garden or flower beds, you can also dump the droppings in it as fertilizer or can start a compost heap somewhere out of the way. I found the wire in my area to be cost prohibitive and ended up purchasing my cages already built. If I were you, I would just look for two 3-level stackers that are 24" X 30" or 24" X 36". You might also want to check out a local rabbit show- sometimes you can pick some cages up there without having to pay shipping.

Best of luck!

Lauren

 

[rabbitgeek]

Other thing to check is zoning ordinances. Find out if the property is zoned residential (R), agricultural (A), or mixed (AR).

Some counties have rabbits classified as livestock which means you need to be zoned for agricultural use. If the property is greater than a certain size (say a half acre) you may be allowed to have livestock as an "incidental agricultural use."

If you can find it in writing, print it and keep two copies. One is to give to the animal control officer in case they show up due to neighbor complaint. AC and Zoning officers don't always look up the code, they enforce what they think the code says instead of knowing what the code says.

If your county/city has rabbits classified as pets, than you might be subject to same restrictions as for dogs/cats.

This advice is based on my experience with zoning and animal control in and around Sacramento County, Calif. Your mileage may vary, Void where prohibited.

Have a good day!

 

[bigbrologan]

These are some pics of the cages I could get, they are all wire, 5 ft long X 30 inches wide. There are two cages in one. They are commercial type cage. There is a drop down space for a nesting box to fit into so the babies can't crawl out and freeze to death. Some don't have the drop down and those are used for the baby bunnies to mature in.
Each once is $15 a piece so it's like $15 for two cages that are 30x30.

Feedback?

Thanks,
Logan

 

[Anntann]

wow. that's quite impressive for $15 each. Nice size, and you can open one up to full size for momma and babies when the time comes.

 

[bigbrologan]

I know, but I want them stacked so I have no idea how I am going to do that.

 

[MaggieJ]

Sounds like a good deal to me, provided the cages are still nice and strong. You would have to build a rack or a frame to hang them from if you want them stacked.

 

[rabbitgeek]

I think that you have a good start there. For that price you can afford to spend some money to fix up the cages.

If the wire is rusty, you can wire brush it, power wash it and when dry you can spray with "cold galvanizing" spray paint. We used it to clean up some cages with rust and it was a good product.

Spray paint won't fix wire that is rusted through, so check all the floors, especially the corners.

I've bought slantfront cages before from somebody getting out of the hobby. I liked them since rabbit rarely got out. The cages in the picture have the closely spaced floor wire turned up at the walls. This is an important feature that will help keep kits from escaping. This feature is often called "babysaver" and is worth having.

If you are going to stack, you will have to make some frames to hold them up. Don't put the top cage up too high or you will have to use a stepladder to reach the back of the cage, which is where the rabbits will want to go when you want them to come out.

You will also need some trays. If you don't want to deal with trays, get Bob Bennets "Raising Rabbits the Modern Way" or "Storey's guide to raising rabbits" by Bob Bennet. He shows how to make a slanted surface to direct urine and poop toward the back of the rabbit barn. If you can access the back of the cage stacks, this would work.

Have a good day!

 

[ladysown]

to stack them...build a rack.

that's what I did with mine.

four 2 x 4's, 8 corner angles, four pieces of wood cut to 26 inches, two pieces of coroplast cut to size, and two rain gutters (or one piece of PVC tubing cut in half).

And if desired, cover it all with plastic sheeting to make it last longer