The sizes and shapes of these houses and cages will depend upon the animals for which they are built and the places you have to put them. Frequently they can be built to advantage against the side of a building, or a fence, or in a corner, and boxes can be utilised in various ways.

Make the houses, cages, and runways as large as you can afford, for there is much more danger of the pets being cramped and crowded than of their having too much room.

Wire netting or wire cloth (held in place by staples) should be freely used, as ventilation is very important for the health and comfort of the animals. Special openings should always be made for cleaning the houses or cages in case all parts cannot be conveniently reached from the doors, for cleanliness is of the utmost importance in all such structures. The floors of the larger houses should always slant or have holes provided for drainage. Covering the floors with sheets of zinc will promote cleanliness. In the smaller cages removable pans or trays can often be used (Fig. 190). Houses and cages with wooden floors should always be raised from the ground on posts, blocks, or stones, to avoid dampness. Clean sand scattered over the floor and frequently renewed will contribute much to the cleanliness of the cages. The bedding should also be changed frequently.

In the case of those animals which use their teeth for gnawing, the corners and angles can be protected by tacking on strips of wire cloth, tin, or zinc, but there is no need to do this over the flat surfaces. In the case of cages or houses (and the runways) which have the ground for the floor and are to be inhabited by animals that will burrow or dig their way out, the wire netting should be continued underground to a considerable depth, or it can be carried down a little way and then bent to lie horizontally, forming a sort of wire floor, over which the dirt can be replaced, and the animals will be unable to tunnel their way out; but in all such cases care must be taken to proportion the mesh of the netting and the size of the wire to the strength and escaping powers of the animals.

Houses for animals often look pretty when made in imitation of real houses, but when you do this choose simple types of good proportions, and do not try to copy all the little details of the large houses. Avoid "gingerbread " work, and do not cover your houses with meaningless jig-sawed scroll work and rows of towers and pinnacles, and do not use all the colours of the rainbow in painting them.

For houses, hutches, boxes, cages, etc., which are to be kept out of doors or in some outbuilding, ordinary machine-planed stock of fair quality is sufficiently good, and planing and smoothing by hand is usually a waste of labour; but if you wish to make a small cage or box to be kept in the house, and to be nicely finished or painted, good clear stock should be used, and the final smoothing done by hand.

In case you wish to make several cages or boxes of the same pattern, as, for example, like Fig. 178, it is much less work to go through the process with two or more at a time than to make each separately.

A house for pets should not be built, as is sometimes done, on a platform or base projecting beyond the base of the house, as this tends to collect and retain moisture and dampness, but should be clear of any platform, like an ordinary dwelling-house, so that the rain will be shed directly upon the ground.

When two or more boards are required for each side of the roof it is usually better to lay them up and down, as in Fig. 187, rather than horizontally or lengthways, because a roof laid in this way is better about shedding the water, which tends to collect in the cracks if the boards are laid horizontally. For the rougher structures the hinges can be screwed flat upon the outside (as shown in Fig. 179), but for nice work they should be fitted in the usual way. (See Hinges.)

Before beginning work upon these cages and houses, read carefully Marking, Rule, Square, Saw, Plane, Nailing, and look up any other references.

Cheap and serviceable cages and houses can be built by simply driving posts or stakes into the ground and fastening wire cloth or netting to them, much as you would build a fence. This wire-fenced enclosure can be covered with a wooden roof if desired. A runway and playground can easily be made in this way.

Fig. 175.

Fig. 176.

A more portable arrangement can be made by putting together wooden frames covered with wire. Very simple forms are shown in Fig. 175. By putting together four or more of such frames a cage can readily be made which can be covered with a wooden roof or with wire (Fig. 176). If these frames are fastened with screws or screw-eyes and hooks, the whole can quickly be taken apart if desired.

A very simple cage can be easily made, on the principle of the common chicken coop, with a few boards or slats and a little wire netting (Fig. 177), but a house of this sort is not especially desirable except for economy of materials and labour. The construction is too simple to require description.

A much better form is that with upright sides, or with one slanting side. Figs. 178 and 179 show an excellent arrangement, easily made. It can be made any desired size or proportions and is suitable for quite a variety of animals. If small, 1/2" stock will be thick enough, but if large, 7/8" stock should be used. The construction is similar to that of a common box (see Box-making, page 219). One corner of each end should be sawed off slantingly (Fig. 178), and a rectangular piece cut from the opposite corner, as shown, before the box is nailed together. The bevelling of the edges of the top and front boards can be done after the box is put together (see Bevelling). For making the door, see Doors, in Part V. The hinged board at the bottom gives access for cleaning. If for indoors, and to be finished or painted, clear stock should be selected and the outside carefully smoothed. (See Plane, Scraper, Sandpaper, Finishing, and Painting.)

Fig. 177.

Fig. 178.

Fig. 179.

For something more like a house, the design shown in Fig. 180 is good and of simple construction. This can be made of any size from that of a small box to a small house. For the latter, see Part III. {House-building for Beginners).

Fig. 180.

To make a little house of this pattern first get out the bottom of the required dimensions, and then the ends, which are alike and to be nailed to the ends of the bottom. Take pains to be accurate in getting out the pieces, or the house will be askew when put together. The construction of the sides is plain. The door can be made as in Fig. 180 (see Doors), or the sides can be entirely of wire and the door placed at the end (Fig. 181). The roof is simply nailed down in place, one side being got out as much wider than the other as the thickness of the stock, so that one will lap over the edge of the other at the ridge. If the angle formed at the top is not a right angle, however, the edge of the narrower roof-board must be bev elled according to the angle (see Bevelling).

A house of this sort can be made with one end closed, while the other remains open (Fig. 182). This is a good arrangement for many animals. First get out the floor, then the pieces for the closed end, cutting out the doorway and a window, if one is desired. These openings can be cut as shown on page 122. Next get out the framework for the open end and fasten it in position. A door can be fitted wherever desired and the roof put on, as just shown.

Fig. 181.

Fig. 182.

A house or cage, chiefly open-work, with two sleeping-boxes or nests (Fig. 183) is similar in general construction. This is suitable for indoors (as in an outbuilding). If to be left exposed to the weather, a solid roof can be added, or it can be covered with canvas or something of the sort when necessary. The construction is similar to that of those already described. This cage can be used for pigeons and other pets, and can be made of any size, according to circumstances. For the door, see Doors and Hinges, in Part V. The box attachments can best be made at the same time, just alike

(see Box-making, page 219), and fastened to the sides of the house, the doorways having been cut in the sides before the house was put together. If these boxes or nests cannot be readily reached for cleaning, they should be hinged to the main house, or have special openings with lids or doors, so that they can be kept clean. The ridge-pole is simply a strip of board placed horizontally between the upper ends of the rafters.

Fig. 183.