In household plots, people are often involved in the cultivation of nutria in order to obtain dietary meat and valuable hide. In order for the animal to feel as comfortable as possible, it needs to create optimal conditions for life. From our article you will learn how to make cells for nutrias with your own hands. Photos will help you understand the issue of their construction in more detail, and the video presented in conclusion will be very useful for a novice breeder.
Why is it worth making the cells yourself?
Making cells for nutria is a rather difficult and painstaking process that requires patience and time. Because of this, many breeders decide to purchase a similar product in a specialized store or in the market, but they do not understand what they are losing. It is important to consider the following nuances:
- Firstly, cages for animals on the market are almost 3 times more expensive than the cost of materials. As a rule, from 5 to 10 thousand rubles (depending on the complexity of the design) will have to be paid for one dwelling, when the cost of materials does not exceed 2-3 thousand.
- Secondly, making a cage with your own hands, you can take into account your own individual requirements. For example, you can place not one but three drinkers at once or make a hole so that the animals go out for a walk.
- Thirdly, in the process of making a home with your own hands, you will get great pleasure, because you create the necessary thing yourself. For some people, this point will seem commonplace, although very often it is it that is determining.
As you can see, it is not necessary to purchase an expensive design in the store when you can do it yourself. In the following sections, you will find a list of the necessary tools and materials that will be needed for this.
Varieties of cells for nutria
If you decide to build a cage for nutria with your own hands, then you should know about the types of dwellings that can be purchased in the markets. They differ among themselves not only in size, but also in special nuances that allow keeping animals in various climatic conditions. For example, in areas with warm winters, it is best to purchase a structure that can be put on the street. Such equipment is simple enough to place on the ground or lift if necessary. In colder regions, it is preferable to build wooden houses, installing them in unheated rooms. But for the north, an ideal option would be a closed cage with a litter, which takes place only in sheds, where it is always warm and dry.
Also, designs can vary in number of tiers. Models are stationary and portable. In some farms, animals are kept even in barrels, specially equipping them so that pets are as comfortable as possible in them. All these nuances should be considered when creating a cell at home. Especially if you want to breed not two or three rodents, but several dozen individuals.
Is the use of mesh cells relevant?
Continuing the topic of varieties of nutria dwellings, it is worth mentioning the most common type, mesh cells. Such designs are most often made portable, so that animals can walk on the grass in the summer and be in a warm room in winter. Despite the fact that such cells are quite simple, and the method of their manufacture is no different, they are of great relevance among modern farmers. Materials cost mere pennies, and a hole can be repaired in which case you can literally in five minutes.
So what is a similar dwelling? As a rule, this is a regular rectangular box made of mesh, on the bottom of which a litter in the form of hay is laid. This design weighs almost nothing, so it can be moved several times a day from one place to another. To keep the mesh cells easier to keep clean, the top should be open. You don’t even have to buy additional devices like awnings. It will be enough to attach the cover with wire.
Metal cages - the best option
If you decide to engage in the breeding of a large number of rodents, then it is best to seriously think about the option of making such cells for nutrias with your own hands. Such structures will be much harder to carry, so they should be made stationary. It is best to install them in sheds that have windows for ventilation.
At the bottom of the metal cages, a special lattice with round holes is laid, through which animal excrement will fall to the floor. Cleaning these cells is quite simple: you just need to shovel the dung out from under the structures and replace the old litter with new ones. The top can be made completely open if the cage is in the room, or cover it with ordinary slate, which will protect the animals from rain.
What material will be required
In our article, we are talking about making a stationary cell for nutrias with your own hands. Of course, you can choose another variety, but this option is suitable for most farms, especially if you place the house in a heated barn with the possibility of ventilation.
So, for the manufacture of one cage for 10 individuals, you will need:
- 4 concrete pipes for support;
- about 5 meters of metal pipes;
- mesh for the manufacture of the bottom of the cell;
- flat slate or wall boards;
- bag of cement and sand.
This is a list of only the basic materials that you will definitely need during construction. Also, depending on individual preferences, it can be significantly expanded. For example, if you plan to make it possible to walk animals, you can build a wooden door and a ramp in the cage, through which rodents will go outside on a hot summer day.
Tool list
To make a cage for nutria, you will need various tools for processing materials. If you do not have something available, then it is strongly not recommended to use alternative options, as this can affect the quality of the design. In this case, it is best to borrow a tool from a friend or friend. Here is a list of what you might need:
- hammer and nails for slate;
- grinder with disks;
- welding and electrodes;
- screwdriver.
If you plan to somehow improve the future design, then other tools may come in handy. It is better to prepare everything you need in advance so as not to be distracted in the process.
Do not forget to draw a drawing
If you will not build the design according to the drawing, then in the process of work, be sure to make many mistakes. Therefore, in advance, draw on a sheet of paper the frame of the future design, indicating the dimensions of all the details. Remember that even the slightest error in the calculations can lead to a mismatch of the corners of the structure, so be extremely careful. If you do everything right, then the design will turn out to be reliable and stable.
Step-by-step instruction
Thinking about how to properly make a cell for nutria? Photos and descriptions from this section will help you answer this difficult question. Just follow the steps described below and you won’t have any problems:
- We make a frame. To do this, we knock together several boards together or fasten them with screws. As a rule, 16 boards are used for this (two horizontal boards on each side and two vertical boards), however, many masters also recommend additionally fastening the frame with several diagonals to give it greater strength
- We hammer concrete pipes into the ground, previously digging holes under them, the depth of which varies from 0.5 to 1 meter (depending on the length of the pipe). After that, we insert metal parts into them and fill them with a solution so that the structure has good strength.
- The third stage involves welding. First, we weld several metal pipes with four supports, after which we lay the grid on them and also weld it. When welding, it is strongly recommended to make several diagonals so that the mesh does not push so much under the weight of the animals.
- We attach the frame to the metal structure using screws or special metal fasteners with bolts and nuts, which can be purchased at any hardware store.
After this, it remains only to nail the slate to the cell, thereby forming strong walls. If you decide to somehow modify the design, for example, to install a sliding pallet for manure, then all work should be done before the slate is fixed.
Place for walking
Near the cage for nutrias you can equip a special place for walking animals. This will be especially true on hot summer days when nutrias cannot be in the barn for too long. You can make a special hole in the wall of the shed through which the ramp leading to the street will pass. The place for walking should be fenced with an ordinary grid, and somewhere in the middle, dig a small hole and install a bath of water in it. This will allow rodents to live in conditions as close as possible to the natural habitat, as well as escape from the heat in summer.
Conclusion
We hope our article helped you learn something new about the cultivation of nutria in cells. I would also like to recommend you to watch a short video in which a true professional in his field makes an animal dwelling and tells in detail what each stage consists of. If you have never before been involved in the construction of cells, then the material will be very useful for you. By the way, even professionals will almost certainly find something new in the video for themselves.