Monday, March 23, 2015

How We Built Our Rabbit Cages

When we first got rabbits, my husband built the Fort Knox of rabbit cages for them. We were able to acquire wooden forms from a local factory and added wood to finish the frame and hardware cloth to the front and bottom. We did not take into account how hard it would be for us to get them out to breed. It was also difficult to clean because half of the floor was wood. Guess which half they liked to poop and pee on? These new ones have an all wire floor. I'm VERY excited about that! (I was the one who had to clean the other cages.) I'm not going to give measurements or a materials list, but I thought I would show you the process of how we built the cages. If you want measurements and a materials list, comment below and I will do my best to give them to you.

Our Rabbit Cage Build Project

It's important to have the right tools and the right materials. The plywood is not shown in the picture below.

The Tools

The Materials

We (and by we I mean the hubby) started with a frame of 2x4s. This was one of the hardest parts of the build.

Building Frame

It was fun to help the hubby make cuts and put it together. I had the important jobs of both supervising and holding things. Not because I'm not capable of running a saw, but because he enjoys it so much. (And he is a saw hog.)

The Hubby and I Cutting Wood

We added hardware cloth to the bottom, sides, and front. CJ was a HUGE help during this whole build.

CJ Adding Hardware Cloth

The roof is overlapping oak planks. I LOVE this feature! The Hubby painted it black. The kids had a good time painting the rest of it red.

Finished Cage

I cut out the hole for the door. I then cut hardware cloth that was bigger than the opening to make the door. I fastened it with zip ties and wire.

Puff Seems to Like His New Cage

Puff (the 6 year old named him) seems to like his new cage. We will be adding the other 2 rabbits to this set of cages this week. The Hubby started building the second set of cages today. We will be adding 3 rabbits to that one when it is finished.