Floor wire comparison - 16 vs. 14 gauge

I bought our cages from Bass Equipment. They use 14 gauge wire on the cages except for the floor, where they use lighter 16 gauge wire. I don't really understand why, since this is the most important place to have a heavier gauge, but it is what it is.

I didn't have any issues with sore hocks, but the floors bowed something awful. I don't have giant rabbits; they are a little over 5 pounds apiece (except for the one NZW I have). Even in the buck's cage, where it's just him except for occasional trysts, the floor was badly bowed.

A year and a half after installing the cages (they were bowed long before that), we finally replaced the floors. The new floors came as precut panels of 14 gauge 1"x1/2" wire from Klubertanz.

Here is a comparison. 16 gauge on the left, 14 gauge on the right. You can see how much heavier the 14 gauge wire is:



I can cut 16 gauge wire all day. 5 cuts on the 14 gauge stuff, and my hands are finished. I got precut panels so I wouldn't have to get Shay to do all that cutting. 14 gauge wire is heavy duty, and really helps spread the rabbit's weight out over more surface, making it easier on the rabbit's feet.

That is a HUGE difference. I am so glad to know that you can buy pre-cut panels!

I also learned that the 1/2" side should be installed facing UP, so that is the side the rabbits are walking on. Again, better weight distribution.

This isn't meant to be insulting or anything, but could you have the cages upside down? I could see them using the lighter gauge on the top, but not the floor!

AnnClaire":jgv6xcoq said:

This isn't meant to be insulting or anything, but could you have the cages upside down? I could see them using the lighter gauge on the top, but not the floor!

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Not with the flooring wire. It's the only side of a Bass cage (or just about any other commerically-built cage for that matter) which has 1/2" x 1" wire on it. The mesh on rest of the wire in the cage measures 1" X 2", including the top, which incidentally is also the only other section which, at least most of the time, is cut to the same exact dimensions as the flooring. The only thing that is different between the two is the size mesh used for them.

Man, someone was thinking with the wrong head on that one, then

What an amazing comparison, and what a huge difference!!

AnnClaire":2hl0bfuw said:

This isn't meant to be insulting or anything, but could you have the cages upside down? I could see them using the lighter gauge on the top, but not the floor!

Click to expand...

Not insulted at all... it's a pretty odd thing!

Satinsrule is correct. The remainder of the cage is 1"x2" wire, so you can't mistake the floors. Also, they say on their site that the floors are 16 gauge.

When I ordered these cages, the only ones I had found that had 14 gauge floor wire were out of my price range. I learned shortly after about Woody's Wabbits, who has them for just a few dollars more each.

I would like to see the photo as a sticky... could help with showing those new to RT why we keep recommending heavier gauge wire for the cage bottom...

And one more thing for the newbies who may be learning from all this: Get galvanized-after-weld (GAW) wire at least for the floors, and for the side panels if it's at all possible. They stand up to rust a whole lot better.

Its not just that, it's also that type of wire, the GAW is much better, the many to most of the wire is made of mild steel in china that just isn't stiff.

Oh yeah, and get the stuff made in the USA. The Chinese-made wire, while cheaper, isn't as durable as the American-made stuff.

Thanks, Jack.