3rd level

[jthocker]

I was planning on adding a third level to our cage. I was just wondering if anyone else has done this and how it turned out. i have a little bit of a weird set up that i would be working with. I plan on just putting a giant "cover" on my existing cage (see pics). It would be just like the lower level, except it wouldnt have anything in it but a couple holes in the floor for the ladders. We are doing this because we are expecting babies here in about a month or so and we are going to be getting our sow spayed so she can live with the boys again.

[this_lil_piggy]

My current cage is acutally 4 levels. It is actually 2 identical cages with lofts, stacked on top of each other. The sows live in 2 levels and the boars live in the other 2 levels. Works great, just requires...LOTS of zipties.

[jthocker]

Yeah, zip ties arent a problem, its the stability. Do you have pics of your cage so i can see it?

[this_lil_piggy]

Bare in mind, it isn't the prettiest thing haha
I actually planned on building an open 2x4 4 level, but once I got half way into building it, I realized that half my grids were not the same size as my other ones (big enough difference in size that it made using half the grids impossible). I had to abort my plans, and make the cage a 2x3 size instead. My plan now is to order all new grids and coroplast, and then as soon as the holidays are over and the Christmas tree is out of my living room, I am going to build a new open 2X5 4 level (2 main levels with 2 small kitchen lofts). I have a love seat that serves no purpose other than collecting laundry so I am going to toss it, to allow space for the larger 2x5 rather than settling with the original 2x4 plans...and maybe it will encourage me to get my clothes folded faster, to boot

The cage as is, is sturdy as a horse---I have moved it all over my house with no problem. But, it just isn't the size I would prefer to have, for the amount of pigs I have. They all get along fine for now, but I suspect as they get older this would be too crowded for the boars.
Stability isn't an issue though. It will likely take me as long to remove all the current zipties, as it will to build the new set up---it did last time.

[jthocker]

Thats a nice cage. Im affraid to put in on the floor now because I recently moved them to the kitchen of our house where it is a little cooler. I think I might split the cage in half and put half on the floor and keep the rest where it is at and just build form there.

[this_lil_piggy]

That is funny...My cage just got moved to the kitchen too. It has been in the corner of the living room, away from windows, but I moved it to the kitchen in front of a window last weekend to accomidate our tree. My kitchen does tend to stay a little bit cooler than the rest of the house. I don't think it is enough of a temp difference to affect them at all, but I do have a small space heater that I run in there on cold nights just to make sure they stay cozy. It has a thermostat on it, so it only cuts on if my kitchen falls below 65.

[jthocker]

The only problem is that we live in "older" houses and the sliding glass door in that area gets a little cool. I dont think it will be a problem because they are right near the thermostat. Here's what i think need to do. I need to put the cage on the floor, shorten it by one making it a 2x4, then add another level to it.

[this_lil_piggy]

You could do that, and/or you could use coroplast, blanket, tarp or something along those lines to cover that end of the cage and serve as a "draft blocker".