Extend C&c And Put 3x2 Underneath?

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PiggySmitten

PiggySmitten

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I'm wondering whether to extend my 2x5 plus 1x2 hay loft set up so it is 2x6 plus the hay loft and then put a 3x2 underneath for another pair of girls.

Pic below of the end that I'd extend. You can see it extends over some stairs. I'd have to take out the "leg" grids if I have a cage underneath and I'm thinking of getting those metal bar loft supports sold on ebay to support what would be the top cage then. I'd have to bulldog clip grids on the front to provide access to them.

What does anyone think?

The 2 girls I would put into the 3x2 underneath are currently in a ferplast 120 - I think the 3x2 is marginally bigger space.

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You are right that the 2x3 C&C is marginally bigger than the ferplast 120, so they won't lose on ground space. If you could make it 2x4 or add a a little mezzanine, that would be even better!

What I would like to add from my own experience of having two cages on top of each other is that you need to be prepared to be on your belly for poop control or cleaning to reach into all corners and that the girls may profit from a cheap lighting strip.

You will also have to find a way of supporting the upper cage with cable tying some reinforcement strips across as it can sag in the middle otherwise.
 
Thanks. I hadn't thought about light actually - there's always something!

I could make it 4x2 hopefully fairly easily by extending further underneath the current top cage or possibly make a little snug underneath level - you can probably see from the picture it's 3 grids high so I could have a below snug rather than an above loft maybe.

It would be nice to have more space for them.
 
4x2 would meet the minimum for 2 piggies. 2 by 3 is too small only 90cm by 60cm. i agree it maybe difficult to get down that low for poopy scooping. the supports would be needed. i cant remember who it was here tried a 3 story C&C and it could hardly support itself and kept comming apart.
 
There's a store online, type in gre n dle on google (altogether), should find it. They do roof supports there, I got one for my loft :)
Also although you'd be low down with cleaning, use two of the grids as doors and keep together with some form of secure clip that can be easily attached and unattached, just thought it may be easier :)
Good luck!
 
TheFurryGodmother said:
There's a store online, type in gre n dle on google (altogether), should find it. They do roof supports there, I got one for my loft :)
Also although you'd be low down with cleaning, use two of the grids as doors and keep together with some form of secure clip that can be easily attached and unattached, just thought it may be easier :)
Good luck!
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Thanks all of you.

Yes alsogrendle sells on ebay and those are the supports I was looking at so I'm glad to hear they work!

@MissBubblegum I don't disagree with you on space requirements and I'm definitely in favour of giving as much space as possible. It's possibly worth mentioning in case others read this thread that there are quite a few places where I have seen 2x3 listed as the minimum size for 2 piggies so there is a bit of disagreement even between people with experience and who genuinely care for their piggies. I'm not talking about a shop seller who just wants to make money.

I think the general rule on commercial cages is 120 is ok for two (but never more than two) if that's all you can do but 140 is of course better. In terms of actual floor space 3x2 grids is a tiny bit better than a 120 commercial cage.

Actually the general rule is give your piggies as much space as you can - you can't really go too big!

The only reason I said 3x2 in the first place is because I wanted to avoid compromising the structural soundness of the existing cage by taking too many legs out. Sounds like I'm going to be ok on that!
 
@PiggySmitten We will have to agree to disagree on that one as personally after measuring a 120 cage compared to a 3x2 the 120 is bigger. But then all cages are manufactured differently and do vary. Just a thought though about leg support, I have seen some people adding grids inside the lower cage to act as support and almost make rooms. like if a leg was 1 grid rather then 2 it would add some support and you could have a bedroom, if that makes sense.
 
MissBubblegum said:
@PiggySmitten We will have to agree to disagree on that one as personally after measuring a 120 cage compared to a 3x2 the 120 is bigger. But then all cages are manufactured differently and do vary. Just a thought though about leg support, I have seen some people adding grids inside the lower cage to act as support and almost make rooms. like if a leg was 1 grid rather then 2 it would add some support and you could have a bedroom, if that makes sense.
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Yes that does make sense and I could probably do that with grids. Thanks for the idea.
 
Just a thought about sizing shop-bought cages and C and C cages; the given dimensions of shop cages are measured from the outside which would include the frame and legs. The very bottom of the cage will usually be quite a bit smaller than this as most bases are tapered towards the bottom. C and C cages have straight vertical sides and so the top and bottom are both the same size. Thus some shop cages may sound like they are bigger than a C and C cage of comparable size.
 
You make it so the 2x3 pulls out from under the main c&c, so it is easier for cleaning etc, so you can just slide it out from under the main one.
 
Where we're the white table things from?

That cage set up is awesome, genuinely love the hay box!
 
In regards to supporting the cage in the center, have a look around IKEA if you have one local we found something in the kitchen section we used to support the loft we added last weekend.. I think it was supposed to be a handle for a drawer, but we simply cable tied it underneath the loft and it helps to keep it upright!

It was something like this here but we had 2 in a pack, there are all sorts of different lengths in the store and the one we got was about a cm wider than the 2 grids.
 
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