More on Rabbit Cages

On to the base (actually the whole framework):  In the last post I discussed building rabbit cages, starting with the basic wire-cutting and assembly.  The cage units are 5 feet wide by 30 inches, with each subdivided compartment being 30 inches square, or 6.25 square feet.  The height is 16 inches.  This is all fine according to the Michigan State guidelines.  I plan on getting New Zealand rabbits or similar, so they'll be about 11 pounds at the upper end.  There'll be more animals in the growout cages.

Two cage units side-by-side are thus 10 feet long, and 10-foot 2x4s were and are easily obtainable (albeit pricey in early-mid 2021, less later).  So it's a pretty simple framework: a 10x5 frame supported on legs with some diagonal bracing.  Because I planned to put a roof on, I moved the legs to the ends and then built another frame to hold the roof panes.

Because I was concerned about the whole thing being top-heavy, I made the top frame out of ripped 2x2s.  This was a mistake.  One of the long 2x2s warped and created a low spot in the roof.

This could (and did) cause water ponding and leakage.  There are a few ways to deal with that, from caulking to getting long panels that would cover the whole span with no cross-wise seams.  I also initially thought about cutting the end posts at an angle to provide for some runoff but did not do that in the end.  Because the roof panels were 8 feet long, I had gotten some 3-foot panels to give myself a little over 10 feet in total coverage. However, the sag attributable to the warped 2x2 was too much and the roof leaked not only along the seam between the 8- and 3-foot panels, but also from one of the longitudinal seams between the 8-foot panels.  Therefore, it was apparent that if caulking did not work (I tried it; it didn't), the 12-foot panels wouldn't either. Plus, even if it had worked, having some water ponding on the roof in summer wouldn't have been good--mosquitoes are not rare in Georgia.  So the roof support structure had to be replaced with a sturdier and straighter version.

 Here's a picture that shows the bowing in the one 2x2.  These were ripped out of the same 2x4 originally.

 

I built a new frame for the roof out of 2x4s, and also attached some better bracing:

Then I attached the new 12-foot panels.

Finally it was all assembled.

Next up: predator abatement.