Are NIC grids even cheap?

I'm making a two story rabbit cage that would be 3 grids by 5 grids and 4 grids high. That means I would need 64 grids. I feel like it's going to be pretty expensive considering every box is between 25-35$. Would it be cheaper to put chicken wire/rabbit garden fencing around it? I would have to build the wooden frames also so that means buying more wood

It depends what country you live in and where you buy them from. I know that some people have bought them very cheap, so it certainly helps to shop around. Cost will also obviously vary depending on whether it's a 4 cube or 6 cube set.

I paid $28 a box, for 4 boxes, plus $20 shipping. So for me it wasn't really that cheap, but I could only get black ones by buying online (only a single store sells them here so far, and only in white for $25 a box) and there's only one website I could buy from. But if you live in the USA, I know the options are much more varied, I believe, Kmart, Target, and Bed Bath and Beyond (and possibly more places) all sell them.

Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend chicken wire because it's too flimsy and can be bitten/torn through. If you're going to use a mesh like that I would use an aviary mesh, probably the one with 10mm squares, though if you're not using it for flooring you could go for a large square size, though you don't want too big because you don't want rabbit faces to get stuck in the gap.

The main benefit you get from the grids over the mesh, is that the grids essentially support themselves due to their rigidness, whereas mesh has to be supported on a frame. Also, if you change your mind regarding size, it can be easily pulled apart and reassembled without worrying about the fact that the piece of mesh you just cut might now be too short and you can't re-use it etc.

It really can depend on where you buy them. I have found quite a few at garage sales, so that cuts the costs by a lot. If I do have to buy new, then I may look for coupons or sales and try not to spend more than about $1 per grid. Some stores are cheaper than others as well, so it helps to shop around. Since some brands now have grids with bigger holes, that can affect what you buy since the holes are too big to really use with rabbits as their head can get stuck.

One of the better deals I have found is through Bed Bath and Beyond. They put out a 20% coupon, usually at least once a month, and you can use it on pretty much any item. The pack of grids is about $25 here, so is brought down it around $20 for 19 grids. I think the pack may be a bit cheaper in the US.

I got mine on Amazon and Walmart for about $20 a box. I notice it depends on time and day, and even color. Some days Id check and it was easily $30. Other days far less, and once in a while a sale would be happening. I also noticed white NIC were always cheaper by at least $5.

Try looking second hand. Craigslist or what not.
I got my first set of about 50 or 60 with the stupid connector pieces... cant remember now honestly for ... 40 bucks? That was a few years ago now.
And at the beginning of this year I got my hands on approx 90 grids, no connectors, for free from 1 person.
Keep looking

shelby_jonesss said:

I'm making a two story rabbit cage that would be 3 grids by 5 grids and 4 grids high. That means I would need 64 grids. I feel like it's going to be pretty expensive considering every box is between 25-35$. Would it be cheaper to put chicken wire/rabbit garden fencing around it? I would have to build the wooden frames also so that means buying more wood

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Are you planning on using grids for the support for the shelves also? If so, you will need more than 64 grids. You may want to consider that a NIC cage that is 3 grids deep (front to back) is very deep. It may be difficult to reach all the way back for cleaning. Just a thought...

I have seen the boxes of grids for $20 at Bed, Bath & Beyond:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sto...nbrand_none_&gclid=CMr-zI-5qMACFWho7AodpUQAvg

Even if you spend $80 on grids, that is still less than any pre-made cage that would probably be half the size of what you intend to make. So it is still a bargain.

If you had to buy the wood, frame it, attach hardware mesh (buns have been known to chew through chicken wire and hardware mesh is a real pain to work with!!!) -- not only would it be way more work and much more time consuming, it wouldn't look nearly as nice. And I don't think any monetary savings would be worth the hassle.

I like the cubes because they are so versatile. As your needs change, you can always dismantle and rebuild it a different way. I have re-used many grids over the years for whatever my changing situation happened to be.

Thank you everyone, you definitely helped me make up my mind! Chicken wire sounds like a horrible idea now haha. I'm just going to go with the grids. It's so aggravating how many different prices there are and how quickly they change. I looked on craigslist a little but not a lot, so I guess I'll keep my eye open.

Also, I realize that 3 1/2 feet is deep so I'm just thinking a door on each side and the front? I might even put wheels on it and make it easy for me to turn it around and open the back.

I would change the measurements but I already bought and cut my top and bottom bases.

Plus, to whoever mentioned using grids under the base I'm not doing that! I was going to used panels or wooden dowels to hold up the second level

shelby_jonesss said:

Plus, to whoever mentioned using grids under the base I'm not doing that! I was going to used panels or wooden dowels to hold up the second level

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That might have been me. I didn't mean for under the main base, but as support for the upper levels. I also used a bar or a dowel but those were supporting the upper level grids. In other words the bases of the upper levels are made from grids that get their support from the dowel. Then I just put scraps of carpet down -- no flat wood needed.

[BTW, a 1x1 length of board also fits through the squares on the grid and is far cheaper than a round wooden dowel. Plus it is squared, so stays put.]

The photo below may show what I mean. You can see the carpet on the upper levels and they are laying on top of grids.

Oops... meant a 2x2. The actual measurements of a 2x2 are smaller than 2" by 2" so I believe that is the size that just fits inside one of the squares on a grid panel.

Ooohhh. I do see, it looks very nice and pretty! I think I'm going to use my scraps of wood to make the bars going across instead of the dowels.

We were pretty lucky with our find for the grids as well. I think we got about 30 of them for only $5.00, which works fine in building a cage for our mini rex. Though when we had our New Zealand, we found that looking into x pens was a cheaper option.