As I mentioned in my
first two articles, cage building is a relatively simple process that
requires only a few tools and a minimal amount of skill. Now that you
have gathered the tools and the supplies you need to make your cages,
and have decided on the size of the cage and the placement of the
doors, it it time to start building cages.
In this third article
in the series I will explain to you the process that we use here at
'TAP Rabbirty' to build our rabbit cages. While there may be many
different approaches to cage building, the process that we use works
well for us. I use an assembly line type technique, which I call the
“panel method”, in which I cut all of the sides, bottom and top
panels first for each cage, then clean up the edges and wire cuts as
necessary before putting the cage together. It is my desire that the
theory and thought behind my decisions will hopefully help you to
avoid some of the pitfalls that we experienced when we first started
building your own building cages.
The Bend Method
When I first started
looking for information about building my own cages, I purchased two
books by Bob Bennet 'Rabbit Housing: Planning Building, and Equipping
Facilities for Humanely Raising Healthy Rabbits' and his small
booklet 'Build Rabbit Housing'. Mr. Bennet likes to use what I call
“the bend method” to making cages and this is his primary
approach in both books.
His method involves
straightening a roll of wire until it is long enough for two sides
and the top. For a 24” x 24” cage 18" tall, the length of wire would be 5ft
(18" per side, plus 24" for for the top). The panel then has to be
cut to the specific height of the cage you are building. He then
takes a 2x4 board and measures the length of the side, places the
2x4 board on the wire and then with a hammer bends the wire against the
board to make a 90 degree angle for each side. He then attaches this
to the bottom and then attaches the other two side panels which he
has already cut out.
I attempted this method
only once, I was not satisfied with the results and it was difficult
to get a good bend as a 5ft long piece is cage wire is hard to
manipulate by yourself. In addition, I did not like the way the other
two side panels attached to the cage where the wire was bent to form
two of the sides (a personal idiosyncrasy). The short story is I had
to find a way that was easier for me to manipulate the cage wire when
building my cages. That was when I decided to make them with what I
call the “panel method”.
The Panel Method
I build my cages using
what I call the panel method. My method involves straightening a roll
of wire out just long enough to cut each individual panel (sides,
top, and or bottom). The individual panels are then trimmed to the
proper height as necessary and cleaned of wire burrs. The panels are
then set aside until I have enough completed panels make a cage. I
start with the bottom and then attach the sides one at a time and then
the top to complete the cage. Don't worry, I will go into more detail
on how I put my cages together later in the article under the
'Assembly Section'.
The panel method makes
it easier for one person to measure, cut, and assemble cages by them
self. This is especially true if you do not have a long workbench or
you have a limited work area. This is why it has become my only
method for making cages. I only make individual cages, I do not make
two or three hole cages as a single unit as they are not as flexible, and do not suit
our rabbitry's needs.
A Coiled Steel Spring
(Kinetic Energy)
Galvanized steel wire
comes in a tightly compressed roll which then has to be unrolled and
stretched straight. Because of this it has the recoil and potential
to spring back on you like a steel spring (kinetic energy) and can be
somewhat a pain in the butt when you are working by yourself. Having
an extra hand is nice, but many times I build my cages by myself so I
had to discover a way to keep the rolled wire flat and keep it from
springing back on me like a steel trap when I was cutting wire by
myself.
The simple solution was
to take a 3' long scrap piece of 2x4 and place it over the end of the
wire and clamp it in place (tightly) with bar clamps to my work bench
and then unroll the wire to the desired length. Then I take another
scrap piece of 2x4 and place it over the wire past the point I want
to cut and then clap it to the table. This procedure while simple
allows me to cut the cage wire safely without the need for an extra
set of hands, and keeps the wire from springing back on me so I do
not get injured.
Assembly
As I mentioned, I build
my cages using what I call the panel method. I follow the same steps
each time I make a cage regardless of the size of the cage. I will
list the following steps I take to make a cage from start to finish
with as many pictures as possible to help clarify what I am doing at
each stage. In this example I will be making a 24”x24” cage, 18”
tall with a centered door out of the smaller 16 gauge cage wire. For
a 24” x 24” cage the size of each side panel is 2ft in length and
then trimmed to make it 18” tall. The top needs to by 24” x 24”
so I do not trim it. I then attach each individual side panel to the
24”x24” bottom cage panel (1”x 1/2” wire) first with j-clips, then I fold the sides up like a
box and attach them together with j-clips. Once I have the sides and
bottom securely attached, I attach the top of the cage to the side
with the j-clips completing the cage assembly. So let's look at each individual step in detail.
Step 1) Straighten out
the cage wire so that you can cut the individual panels that you need
to make your cage. Remember each cage has four sides of the same
height and length, whereas the bottom and top are the same length and
width, but they are not trimmed for height. Straightening a roll of
wire out just long enough to cut each individual panels is the one
step with the most potential to harm yourself as the wire can easily
snap back on your like a steel spring. When making cages by myself, I
clamp the cage wire to my work table with a scrap piece of 2x4 pine
and wood clamps.
Once you have the wire
clamped to your workbench, measure the size of the panel you wish to
cut. In this instance because the cages are to be 24”x”24” and
I am using a 24” wide roll of 1”x1” cage wire, I simply measure
18” (the height of the cage) down the length of the roll and make
my cut across the entire roll with my wire cutters. The result is
that I have a panel that is 24” wide and 18” tall when stood on
it's side with only one cut. Repeat the process until you have all
four of your side panels cut.
For the top, you are
going to need a panel that is 24” square, so measure 24” down the
roll and cut across the width of the roll to make a 24”x24” panel
for the top. You will need to do the same for the bottom panel, but
remember the bottom panel needs to be made from 1”x1/2” 16 gauge
rolled wire. Now that you have all your panels cut out it is time to
move on to the next step.
Step 2) After you have
cut out all of your panels, you will note that they are still concave
and will have to be flattened. I lay my panels curved side up on my
workbench and then starting at the top of the panel begin to bend it
in the opposite way. Then I reposition my hands about 4 four inches
lower and make another bend in the same direction until you get the
panel relatively flat. It may take you a few times to get into the
rhythm, but it is not hard and once you have done a few panels you
will see how easy it it.
Step 3) Now that all of
your panels have been cut and you have flattened them, it is time to
remove any of the burrs left on the edges by your wire cutters. We
take the panels and then grind off the burrs on my bench grinder. If
you do not have a bench grinder, then you can use a dremel moto-tool
or you could even use a metal file but that is going to be a lot of
work. Now, you do not have to remove the burrs from the panels as
they will be on the outside of the cage and will not affect the
rabbits, it just looks better when they are removed and it makes
carrying the cages more comfortable. Having cage panels with sharp
metal ends makes it is easy to scratch or cut yourself, and I prefer
to leave my skin intact when at all possible. After all I get enough
scratches from the rabbits let alone the cages.
Builder's Note: I trim
the cage wire because I use 2ft wide rolls, 25 feet long. If you want
to make 24” tall cages then you will have less wire cuts to trim.
Step 4) Once all the
burrs have been removed from the panels it is now time to start
putting the cage together. Start by attaching one side to the bottom
of the cage panel, then fold the panel flat and turn to bottom panel
around and attach the panel on the opposite side. Continue this
process until all four of the cage panels are in place. For
attachment of the cage side to the bottom, I place one j-clip every
three inches as the floor will have to hold the weight of the rabbit.
For the sides and top I place one j-clip every 4 inches. Remember
j-clips are cheap and I would rather put extra clips then not place
enough.
Once you have all four
of the side panels attached to the cage, you simply unfold the the
panels and begin to connect them together with j-clips until all the
side panels have been attached to each other. At this point
regardless of the gauge of the cage wire, the cage will feel flimsy,
however once the top is attached I assure you the cage will become
rigid and feel solid. Once you have added the top panel, all that is
left to do is to measure and cut the door.
Step 5) At this point you should have a solid square 24”x24”
wire cage. Now the only left to do is to measure and cut the door for
the cage. Remember from our second article 'Size and Placement Matter' that I recommend that you make all your doors a minimum of
12”x12” to allow for the addition of a nest box if necessary.
Measure and mark the center of one of the cage walls and cut out a
12” square opening for the door.
Once the door has been
cut and removed, you will need to de-burr or smooth off the cuts made
by your wire cutters. You have several options here, but the one that
works the best for me is to use my dremel moto-tool with a grinding
stone to smooth the wire surface. If you have a small hand held
grinder you can use it but you must take care not to remove to much
wire. If you do not have a moto-tool or grinder then you will need to
use a metal file to smooth the edges.
If you do not have a
dremel, hand held grinder or metal file, there is still one more
option. In this case when you cut the door out do so leaving enough
wire so that you can bend the wire back making a smooth curving
surface. Not so easy to explain, but a picture is worth a thousand
words in this instance. I still have a few old cages made this way
but it is not my preferred method, but it might work well for you.
Step 6) The final step
in completing your cage is to make and attach your cage door and
latch. As all my cage openings are 12” square, I cut a square piece
of wire 14”x14” because I like to the door of the cage to overlap
the opening by 1”on all sides. Determining the way you want your
door to open is a matter of personal preference. I have started
changing all the doors on my cages to open to the side, although I
still have a few that open from the top down. For cage latches on our
outside cages when we first started raising rabbits we used snap
rings for cage locks as the are extremely secure. You can find snap
rings at any Walmart, or you local hardware store in packages of 3 to
4 for about $6.00 or less. While we still use some of these snap rings, I now
make my own cage latches as well. Making your own cage latches is not
difficult, but it is a subject for another article. Now that you have
attached your cage latch your cage is now ready for it's new
resident.
Potential Cost Savings
Can you really save
money making your own cages? Depending on the wire you purchase and
the cage size you are making you can make your cages for 54 – 65%
cheaper than buying commercially made cages. And that is with buying
the smaller 10 to 25ft rolls of galvanized cage wire. Buying the
larger 50 to 100ft rolls can save you even more money. I have taken
the time to list some of the popular sizes of cages and their
manufacturer's as well as the cost of making your own cages for
comparison.
Dumar 24”x24” cage
16” tall $24.99 (Tractor Supply)
Dumar 30”x30” cage
16” tall $29.99 (Tractor Supply)
Miller Manufacturing
24”x24” cage 16” tall $32.94 (Walmart)
Miller Manufacturing
30”x30” cage 16” tall $42.15 (Walmart)
Pet Lodge 30”x30”
cage 16” tall $29.99 plus shipping (Southern States)
Pet Lodge 30”x36”
cage 16” tall $39.89 plus shipping (Mills Fleet Farm)
DIY Cage 24”x24”
cage 18” tall (14 gauge 1”x2” wire) $11.65 ($4.99+$6.66)
DIY Cage 24”x24”
cage 18” tall (16 gauge 1”x1” wire) $14.94 ($4.99+$9.95)
DIY Cage 30”x30”
cage 18” tall (14 gauge 1”x2” wire) $28.86 ($6.66+$22.20)
Because cages are made
with a combined total of 6 panels (4 sides and a top and a bottom). maximizing the way you
cut your wire can really make a difference in the amount of money you
save. So think about the layout and measure twice before cutting your
panels.
Using the common sizes
of rolled cage wire that you can find at your local Tractor Supply,
Lowe's or Home Depot I have taken the time to breakdown the cost of
making individual cages based on the type and number of cage panels
required. The cost of the rolled wire is of course based on the cost
of the wire at the time this article was written (April, 2016), so
over time the costs may vary.
Galvanized Steel Wire
14 gauge (1x1/2”) 30” wide 10ft long $19.99 ($1.99 per ft) from
Tractor Supply.
-
Enough wire to make 4 2'x'2 cage bottoms, making the cost of the bottom cage panel $4.99 each. Or 3 30”x30” cage bottoms, making the cost of the bottom cage panel $6.66 each.
Galvanized Steel Wire
14 gauge (1x2”) 36” wide 25ft long $39.99 ($1.59 per ft) from
Tractor Supply.
-
Enough wire to make 15 2'x2' cage panels 18” tall and 15 2'x2' cage panels 16” tall, making the the cost of the cage panels $1.33 each. So you could make 3 2'x'2 cages 18” tall and 3 2'x2' cages 16” tall (total of 6 cages) for $6.66 each without the cost of the bottom of the cage and clips.
-
Enough wire to make 9 30”x30” cage panels 18” tall, plus four extra side panels, making the cost of the cage panels $4.44 each. So you could make 1 30”x30” cage for a $22.20 without the cost of the bottom of the cage and clips, and have 4 additional panels left over for another cage.
Galvanized Steel Wire
14 gauge (1x2”) 72” wide 100ft long $179.99 ($1.79 per ft)
-
Enough wire to make 30 2'x2' cages 18” tall, making the cost of cages $5.96 per cage for the sides and the top, without the cost of the bottom of the cage and clips.
Galvanized Steel Wire
16 gauge (1x1”) 24” wide 15ft long $17.99 ($1.99 per ft) from
Tractor Supply.
-
Enough wire to make 9 2'x'2 panels 18” tall, therefore each panel costs $1.99 each and it tales 5 panels (4 sides and a top) to make a cage, so the cost of each cage would be $9.99, without the cost of the bottom of the cage and clips.
When it comes to
galvanized rolled wire, I have found the most economical way to
purchase your wire is in a 50 or 100ft roll. However, these rolls are
very cumbersome and may not be suitable for your purpose if you are
making your cages by yourself due to both their size, and
weight. Overall the 1”x2” rolled wire is the best buy for cage
making. Even though the 16 gauge wire is smaller, because it has a
tighter weave pattern 1”x1” more wire is used so the cost is
slightly higher (the roll is only 24” wide as opposed to 36”
wide).
I have several buck
cages that are 24”x24” and I have used the 1”x1” wire to make
these cages, primarily because it was all that was available at the
time. I have found that although the wire is thinner (16 gauge versus 14
gauge) it works out quite well for smaller cages. I would not
recommend that you use this wire for building and cages greater than
24” square as it could get quite flimsy.
Conclusion
This final part in this
article series was quite long and I hope it was informative on how I
cut, prepare and assemble our cages here at the TAP rabbitry. Because
this article is already five pages in length without the
illustrations, I have decided to write a seperate article on making
your own cage latches. As you can see by the cost comparison you can
increase your cage budget by 50% by making your own cages. In
addition, I have found that the wire I use to make cages is superior
to that of the commercial cages that you can buy at your local
Walmart or Tractor Supply. I know from experience as we had to buy
two of the cages in an emergency. The bottoms of these cages soon
began to rust after about 6 months of inside use. I have cages I made
two years ago that have not rusted as of yet and many of them are
outside. Yes the j-clips will rust, but none of our cages here at the
Tap Rabbitry have.
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Other Related Articles
On Our Blog:
References:
Bennet, Bob,
Storey's Guide To Raising Rabbits
4th
Ed, North Adams,
MA: Storey Publishing, 2009.
Bennet, Bob, Build
Rabbit Housing: A Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-82, North
Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 1982.
Bennet, Bob, Rabbit
Housing: Planning, Building, and Equipping Facilities For Humanely
Raising Healthy Rabbits, North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 2012.
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