Homemade Animal Cage
Datetime:2012-12-13 Hits:
Homemade Animal Cage
Animal cages have a variety of purposes. You may need one to contain animals, to relocate them or to keep them as pets. There are as many cage designs as there are animals to cage. A simple cage design can be easily changed to fit your needs. Changing the cage material, size and weight can make a cage that will contain a mouse or a mountain lion.
Cage Size
The way to make a cage will depend on the type of animal you are hoping to contain. Small animals such as birds, mice and rats need only little space.
Larger animals such as rabbits, cats and dogs should be in larger cages with larger openings, though most animals can fit through spaces that you may think they could not. The cages should be built from heavier-duty material.
Material Selection
Once you know how big to make your cage, figure out what materials to use. Wood is probably the easiest to work with and the most readily available. You need only basic tools to build a wood cage.
You also need to figure out whether you want to use screen, hardware cloth, chicken wire or wooden bars for your cage. Again, this depends on the size of the animal.
Small Animals
Make sure the animal has plenty of room to move around, plus space for food and water. Plan the cage out on paper, writing down the dimensions you decide on. For small cages, 1- by 1-inch or 2- by 2-inch wood is probably strong enough. Cut these pieces to the dimensions you wrote down and connect them to make a cube. Wood screws are probably the best choice to hold the wood pieces together. Use a piece of plywood or other similar, thin wood to make a bottom for the cage. Drill several small holes in it for drainage. This will allow the animal to walk on the bottom without falling through. You can also use a very fine mesh. Use screws to attach the bottom to the frame.
You can use chicken wire, hardware cloth or screen to finish the cage. Just make sure it is not a material that the animal can chew through. Staple the chicken wire, hardware cloth or screen to the inside of the cage, so if the animal pushes on it, it cannot create a hole.
Leave one end open for a door. You can make a door frame out of wood fastened together into a square and covered with the same material as the rest of the cage. The door frame should fit inside the end frame of the cage closely but not snugly. It should be easy to open but not have gaps big enough for the animal to get out. Put hinges on one side and a latch on the other. Attach the other half of the hinges and latch to the cage.
Larger Animals
A cage for larger animals can be built the same as for small animals, just larger. You may want to use 2- by 4-inch wood for the frame and make sure you have the wire or screen stapled securely to the inside of the frame. If you'd rather not use wire or screen, you can make bars. 1- by 1-inch wood or similar-sized dowels can be used to make the bars. If you use square lumber, you need only cut them to fit in the frame and screw them in from the top of the frame with wood screws. If you use round dowels, you can drill holes in the top and bottom for the dowels to fit in and glue them. If you use bars of either type, you will probably want to use a solid top and bottom, drilling holes in the bottom piece for drainage.
