Keeping pets requires a lot of responsibility from owners, no less than raising a child. In this case, strict adherence to the rules and regulations for breeding pets is necessary. The most important thing is to create conditions as close as possible to those in which animals live in nature.
Rabbit houses
Rabbits, despite the fact that they are resistant to most diseases, unpretentious in food and living conditions, still need a properly equipped house. Housing must be built taking into account the number of individuals, sex and age.
The cost of ready-made houses made of imported materials may not pay off soon enough, so many come to the decision of self-construction of dwellings. This is a much more cost effective option. In this case, the question arises of how to make a cage for rabbits from a grid. Making housing for eared does not require any special skills, just follow all the tips andcalculate correctly.
What mesh do you need for rabbit cages?
The main criterion for building a competent eared house is the choice of material.
Galvanized metal mesh for rabbit cages is best suited, which has a number of undeniable advantages over its counterparts.
This material is famous for its durability, thanks to which there is no need to periodically replace the walls of the house. In addition, galvanizing provides the material with resistance to rust and corrosion, which also affects the service life of the product. Due to the small size of the mesh, hares will not be able to chew on the net, which also increases durability.
Which mesh diameter to choose?
In construction, a metal mesh for rabbit cages with a cell diameter of 1.5-2 cm is best suited. There is a mesh with rectangular and square cells, it is preferable to choose the second option, since then the material is better stable, the possibility of sagging is excluded. You can use large cells for the purpose of arranging the roof, but for the floor it is better to take small ones so that the paws of the pets do not fall through.
Experienced rabbit breeders prefer hot-dip galvanized welded metal mesh. You can distinguish this species from others by using sagging on the welding seams. It is this mesh for rabbit cages that will serve you for many years, thanks to a thick layer of zinc, it will please you with resistance to corrosion and rust.
Whenwhen choosing a mesh, it is necessary to pay attention to the geometry of the cells, if curvature is noticeable, then there is poor bonding at the welding points. Also, if the rods are thin (less than 2 mm), then the mesh is not suitable.
Building Options
There are many options for building a house for breeding and keeping eared. Which option to stop is up to the owner of the animals, but you need to pay attention to the convenience of housing.
The two most commonly used building options that use a net for a rabbit cage:
- frameless cage on supports (more suitable for keeping animals indoors);
- frame.
What do you need to know to build a rabbit house?
To make a house yourself, you should get the necessary materials:
- grids with cells 25 x 50 and 10 x 25 mm;
- fixing rings;
- tin sheets for pallets;
- plywood for partition walls and wall insulation;
- bars 50 x 100 mm for the frame;
- nails/screws;
- metal corners for frame;
- canopies (7 pieces);
- plastic edging;
- bolts (1-2 pieces) for doors;
- roofing materials, you can use slate / corrugated board;
- roulette;
- pencil;
- with a hammer;
- screwdriver/driver;
- hacksaw;
- metal scissors;
- pliers;
- file.
Building cell walls
Before you start building a house, you need to decide how many individuals will live in it. The animal must have enough space to move around, because they are very mobile individuals.
Based on the size of the mesh for the rabbit cages, you can start cutting the material for the front, back and side walls. The front and back walls should be the same size, just like the side walls.
Next, you need to cut the top and bottom of the dwelling, they should also be the same. However, we cut out the lower part of the house from material with smaller cells to protect the hares from leg injuries.
Using mounting rings, assemble the walls.
You can install a plywood partition in the house so that the rabbit can have fun moving from one area to another.
Constructing the bottom of the building. A tin tray is needed to remove excrement. We fix the bottom of the cell, stepping back one cell. We remove the twigs of the lower cells, a pallet will be inserted there.
Next, you need to decide how many doors there will be and where they will be located. In these places we make cuts and process the edges with a file.
To reduce the chance of injury to the rabbit, we install a plastic edge in the doorway.
Cut out the door a little larger than the size of the opening and fix it with fixing rings. We install a deadbolt in front so that the house can be tightly closed.
Installing the top of the cage.
Make a pallet for the house
Now you can make a pallet. We cut out a sheet of tin a little larger than the bottom of the cage. If a partition is installed in the cage, as well as when keeping several individuals there, it is better to make a couple of pallets.
The workpiece must be given the appearance of a trough, this can be achieved simply by bending the sheet. Care must be taken to ensure that the pallet is placed in the place prepared for it.
Next, you can proceed to the manufacture of the frame of the house. Making it yourself is easy. We use wooden blocks. The frame must be made a little larger in size than the cage itself, so that the net for the rabbit cage fits into it without hindrance.
We connect the frame along the perimeter with metal corners. From the bars we attach the legs, their length should be at least a meter so that the rabbits are not threatened by predators.
Cage insulation
From plywood we make the back and side walls according to the size of the frame, they must be attached with canopies to the upper beam. This is required so that housing can be covered in the cold.
In order to insulate the roof of the house, you can use a plywood sheet. By equipping the cage with additional insulation, you can be sure that nothing threatens the rabbits even in cold weather.
The last step will be the installation of drinkers, feeders and a manger for hay in the house. Drinking bowls and feeders are best installed outside or in any other way, but so that pets do not pollute their contents.
Iffollow the simple instructions described above, then even beginners in this business will not find it difficult to build cages for rabbits from a grid with their own hands. Each animal requires special care and acceptable living conditions. Providing a warm home and fresh food for hares, you can not worry about the he alth of the eared.
If you build a simple version of the cage yourself, then in the future it will be possible to make adjustments based on the experience gained. You can eventually build a real rabbit farm without spending a lot of money.
