How to Build a Large Cage

Building cages is not as difficult as people think it to be. Many people are confused about how to build a large cage. There are certain guidelines to follow while building a cage. It is essential to build animal cages that meet the needs and size of any particular pet animal. It can be a horse, donkey or ponies.

One can build animal cages from welded wire, screen, chain link, wood, Plexiglas, glass, or plastic. One must consider three things before designing or building a cage- function, design and aesthetics.

Function:

The cage must meet all the needs of the animal. While designing the cage ask the following questions to yourself:

• Which animal is to be housed in the cage?
• Is the cage spacious enough for the animal?
• Can the humidity and heat level be maintained in the cage?
• In case of any emergency, is the cage escape proof?
• Does the cage satisfy all the needs of the animal?

Design:

Design the cage in such a way that the animal should be comfortable in it. It should feel at home when it lives inside it. Design the cage in such a way that it would be comfortable while cleaning it. A simple, well kept cage looks much better and spacious.

Tools required for Building a Large Cage

• Table saw, circular saw, jigsaw
• Palm or belt sander, hand drill, router and compound miter saw
• Tape measure, hammer, whole saw, and nail set
• Countersink, tin snips

Materials

Melanin plywood, shelving board, wire

How to Build a Large Cage

With the help of the above mentioned materials and tools, a large cage can be built by using the following tips:

• The first rule of cage building is never throwing away the left over scrap. Make sure all the measurements taken for building a cage are correct.
• Cut the wood in squares. Square means the corners are exactly 90degree in angle and length of the cut is straight. Pre drill the screw holes. Do not hinge the doors up. Rectangular doors will open downwards and square ones will either open up or hinge to the side.
• While drilling holes for hinges, take care so as to not break the acrylic. Place a piece of scrap wood under the area that you are drilling. This will help to complete the drilling process safely.
• Cut the glass carefully with the help of a cutting glass tool. Line up a straight edge along the cutting line and draw scribe tool across the glass once.

In this way, the query of how to build a large cage is answered by using the above details. A good ventilation, heater and sliding windows can also be added in the cage.

If you are going to keep horses, ponies and donkeys, or for that matter any other large mammal, you need to be sure that you have enough space. They all take up a fair amount of room which means a fence long enough to surround a paddock, and that costs a lot of money. Horses and donkeys will not try to wreck it, but the best grass is just out of reach beyond the fence which means that it gets leaned on very heavily. Goats on the other hand will do their utmost to get out of anything. They can climb, they can ignore electric shocks, they can squeeze through the tiniest gaps - they are brilliant escapologists, so, if you are intending to keep them, you must think long and hard about their fence. If you have any doubts at all, do not keep goats. They are great characters but they are demanding beasts. Once you have established where your paddock is going to go, you will need to provide a draught proof shed for your animals and, unless you are experienced at making such things, I suggest you buy one. Site it so that the door does not face the prevailing wind, fit it with a concrete floor that can be easily cleaned, and if the building is large enough to incorporate a separate room in which to keep brooms and wheelbarrows and metal bins full of food, life will be a lot easier. The food bins must be rodent proof and you will also need a water tap on the premises.

You will need a regular supply of straw for bedding and a pitch-fork and shovel for getting rid of it A really heavy water container is essential, and a food trough and hayrick from which the animals can feed should be fixed firmly to one wall.

Whether you intend to keep horses, donkeys or goats, they will need to be groomed, so you will need a good brush. You will also need something to remove tightly packed muck from hooves and, in the case of goats, something to trim their hooves with before they become overgrown. Horses need this service as well but it is far better to ask your vet to do it. Do not be tempted to neglect doing this periodically, or your animal is going to end up with all sorts of foot and leg problems.