| In today's short article, we are going to talk about | | | | on the front and back walls. |
| bottoms. No - I don't want to discuss your | | | | The trouble comes when the rectangle is bumped |
| bottom - or even your guinea pig's bottom. I | | | | diagonally off the table so that it slides off one of |
| want to talk about the need for incorporating a | | | | the corners (for instance the front-left corner). In |
| bottom when designing and building your | | | | this case, the entire left side wall and the front |
| C&C cage. | | | | wall are nudged off the edge. The remaining two |
| Go online and search for web pages and articles | | | | walls (back wall and right side wall) are unable to |
| on how to build a C&C cage. The vast | | | | support the cage so it falls off the table diagonally. |
| majority of results returned will show how to build | | | | Now let's put the Coroplast bin back into the |
| a cage that looks less like a cage and more like a | | | | corral. Slide the cage off the front or side - once |
| corral. If you examine it closely, you will note that | | | | again, no problem. The cage rests on two |
| this simplistic class of designs consists simply of a | | | | opposite sides with the litter bin still contained |
| Coroplast bin or tub surrounded by a wire grid | | | | within. But, nudge it diagonally off the table and it |
| fence. | | | | slides off the table - and depending upon weight |
| And I am not knocking this system. It is an | | | | distributions and forces, it may very well pull the |
| absolutely fantastic and innovative design. It is | | | | litter bin onto the floor with it. At the very least, it |
| both effective and efficient in its simplicity. It | | | | will probably create a large litter catastrophe for |
| provides a lot of space for the money. And in my | | | | you to clean up. At worst, you could be looking at |
| opinion, of all cubes and Coroplast designs out | | | | an injured pig. |
| there; this simple, basic "pig corral" is the most | | | | Now let's add a bottom to our cage. Nudge the |
| economical and cost-effective design that can be | | | | cage diagonally off of the table and two sides no |
| had. However, there is one caveat - and it is an | | | | longer fall off the edge. Even with two edges off |
| important one. | | | | the table, the cage does not fall off the table |
| In my mind, this class of bottomless cage is | | | | because it now rests on its bottom. |
| generally safe only when used on the ground. Let | | | | If you are having difficulty imagining the situation I |
| me explain why. | | | | have described, there is an extremely descriptive |
| To make visualization easier, let's ignore the litter | | | | YouTube video available which very effectively |
| bin for just a moment. Suppose we place just the | | | | exhibits this situation. To view it, simply paste this |
| "fence" on a table. That's right; we would have | | | | URL into your browser. |
| just a wire grid rectangle sitting on a table. Here's | | | | When considering a C&C cage design, many |
| a common scenario: A standard folding table is | | | | people consider a cage bottom to be an |
| 6-feet (72-inches) by 30-inches wide. A common | | | | unnecessary addition. And if the cage is to be |
| size for C&C cage width is 56-inches by | | | | placed on the ground then, except for adding |
| 28-inches. So there is plenty of room (8-inches to | | | | some structural reinforcement, the cage bottom |
| spare) on each side. There is only an inch to spare | | | | serves little purpose. If, on the other hand, the |
| in front of and behind the cage. | | | | cage is to be placed on a table, then a cage |
| If we nudge the cage forward until the front wall | | | | bottom can make the cage considerably more |
| of the rectangle slips off, there is really no | | | | stable, more reliable and safer for your pigs. As |
| problem. The front edge of the fence will now | | | | an alternative, you can also fasten the cage to |
| rest on the two sides and these two sides still | | | | the table top to prevent movement or attach a |
| hold the structure on the table as long as it's not | | | | lip to the table edges so that the cage cannot be |
| pushed too far off the front edge. The same | | | | bumped off. |
| goes if it's pushed off either side. The cage will sit | | | | |