Wire shelving cage...

[Phrick]

I have seen several YouTube videos about this and I think it is a great idea. I do not have spare room in a garage or shed yet but I plan on trying to rig up something near my house when we do get rabbits. They sell a finer mesh shelf that you can use for the floor. When I priced it out it was about $200 to make 4 cages (I found Menards to be the cheapest) that would be 32"x36" and 16" tall. I think the biggest benefit is the sturdiness of the cages and since they are coated they should not break down over the years.

V/r
Jeremy

Yep, the finer spaced wire shelving is called Close Mesh and generally sold as "pantry wire" and it''s even smaller than the standard baby saver , at 5/8 inch spacing. So far I haven't found it used, though I can find the regular wire shelf used pretty easily. So if I have to pay full price for the close mesh for cage bottoms then I'm still saving money. I already have bought wire cages but when I need more or new ones, I'm building from wire shelving FO SHO. Mainly for convenience sake, as it's more space effective for storage before/between uses and easier to obtain than rolled wire where I'm located at the moment.

 

[Rabbits by Accident]

I have a couple cages made from wire shelving. I love them.

However, I do not use wire shelving for the flooring. I don't think it's good for their feet. I make the flooring out of 1/2" x 1" wire with supports every 24" (so really just 2 supports)

PICS HERE

The cages are held together with hog rings, simple, very strong, cheap on Amazon.

Only drawback I've found is that I like the rabbits to be able to stretch their backs & have more room, so I've added a 2nd story made from an old bird cage. But without the height, they'd still be okay, esp for grow-outs, etc.

I'll post a couple pics of the 'townhouses' later.

 

[ladysown]

I found some wire shelving at the dump station. They allowed me to take it a no cost. However I have 2 concerns. #1... I won't use the shelf for the floor. Mesh should be 1/2" by 1" max. I will consider using the shelving for the sides. Maybe the top. Biggest challenge is getting the right size hog rings. I would prefer to use J Clips but they are too small for the larger diameter wire. #2. Rabbits chew everything. The rubber coating will get chewed and ingested by the rabbits. I raise rabbits for meat and not sure I want them ingesting or passing rubber.

I used coated shelving on the sides of my cages... the rabbits DID NOT ever in four years chew on them. they had opportunity to do so, but just never did.

 

[Pickledzinkbunny]

I have a couple cages made from wire shelving. I love them.

However, I do not use wire shelving for the flooring. I don't think it's good for their feet. I make the flooring out of 1/2" x 1" wire with supports every 24" (so really just 2 supports)

PICS HERE

The cages are held together with hog rings, simple, very strong, cheap on Amazon.

Only drawback I've found is that I like the rabbits to be able to stretch their backs & have more room, so I've added a 2nd story made from an old bird cage. But without the height, they'd still be okay, esp for grow-outs, etc.

I'll post a couple pics of the 'townhouses' later.

You have some nice ideas!
What do you use for water?