Whelping Boxes

[moko81]

Hi Again

We possibly could have a litter due mid next mth & are wanting peoples thoughts on Whelping boxes.

Our last litter a friend let us borrow thier's which was a huge help as we didn't know what the hell we were

getting ourselves into, with this possible litter approaching rather fast we feel

we should do something quick smart.

Hubby (god love him) thinks he can wrangle something up before then, but he's been saying this well before

we even mated our bitch & still no whelping box . Another friend has recently purchased a

Thermostatic (think thats how there spelt) one from a place in Melbourne, reckons it the best thing they've

ever brought. I contacted the place & there over $500 bux, with the recession & all

it's a bit much at the mo'.

So the question is, to help keep costs low should we buy materials & attempt to make one,

try & source one online (have looked not very many online) or

do we save all the hassle & get the $500 Thermostatic one (which hubby has decided he would rather get now).

Thanks in advance for any thoughts :D

[peaceful]

My other half made ours and its great!

Nothing wrong with home made :D

[ellz]

I don't even use one.....but certainly nothing wrong with homemade. It doesn't have to be heated, there are many ways of providing warmth for the puppies other than a heated whelping box. I use homemade heatpads underneath the puppies and a heat lamp on top and keep the pen itself enclosed and draught free. If I can do it living in the Central Highlands district of Tassie, I'm sure you can!!

[Ozstar]

My OH made mine and it cost under $100. It is 1200 x 1200, has anti chew rails etc.

For heating I would suggest a pig grow light which also cost under $100.

Works out a lot cheaper.

Leanne

[sandgrubber]

I would consider a thermostatic for a thin coated breed in winter. Otherwise I'd go home made. With Labbies I find that the bitch generally HATES added heat, which does more harm than the heat does good. If it's cold, I find localised heating by a lamp or heating pad is preferable. I make simple boxes, with no floor, that are built to be unscrewed and stacked as four flat boards. I use waterproof plywood, which is easy to work with and will withstand washing.

[moko81]

My OH made mine and it cost under $100. It is 1200 x 1200, has anti chew rails etc.

For heating I would suggest a pig grow light which also cost under $100.

Works out a lot cheaper.

Leanne

Wow Leanne, that looks great

Mite have to let hubby have a look at the pics for inspiration :nahnah:

[t-time]

My Dad made mine for me. It has rails and the front panel slides out completely for when the puppies are older - cost $90 in materials and 2 other friends have used it for several litters when I'm not using it.

Photos to come when I dig it out of the shed :nahnah:

[moko81]

Thanks all for your replies :nahnah: , definately think we gonna purchase materials & have a go at making one.

I shouldn't be to rough on the other half, but sometimes it's just so much easier for me to buy something

already built not as many arguments that way

1 last question, what type of wood should we use & could we get this at bunnings?

Edited April 22, 2010 by moko81

[t-time]

We just went with basic pine. For the length of time that puppies need a whelping box, they don't really have the inclination to go chewing on the wood but I guess that might be different for larger breeds

I painted mine before my last litter and stuffed up the front panel 'cos now it won't slide so easily ;) So keep that in mind when your OH builds the box

[SwaY]

I made mine out of untreated timber, and used an overhead brooder lamp.

I like the idea of warming the air they breathe, rather then the bodies keeping warm by laying on a heat mat, if you get me.

[sandgrubber]

I'd buy a full sheet of waterproof ply and ask Bunnings to cut it into four pieces of equal height. You want something between, say, 8 and 12 mm thick so as to give somthing that will last but not be horribly heavy. Pine isn't as strong, weight for weight, as ply. If it's a one off or not to be used for litter after litter, I'd go for a sheet of melamite or some ply or fiberboard with a treated surface, which will give you one painted/smooth/cleanable surface but a basic fabric that won't hold up to ware for more than a few litters.

Edited April 22, 2010 by sandgrubber

[Ozstar]

Mite have to let hubby have a look at the pics for inspiration

I have better pics of just the box if you need more.

1 last question, what type of wood should we use & could we get this at bunnings

I used white melamine (sp) as it is easy to wipe clean. Bunnings will cut it all to size for you.

I have had about 6 litters in it and it still looks new. It is heavy and I have put wheels on one end so that it is easier to move around.

Leanne

Edited April 22, 2010 by Ozstar Kennels

[Baileys mum]

We too where going to buy heated whelping box from a place in Melbourne called Kenol, but we got qouted $520.00 for the size we needed. We decided that seeing this was our first litter, that it was a bit too much to spend. So my hubby went to Bunnings & bought all the parts for $80.00 & made one. He made it out of white Melamine, which should be very easy to clean.

IMO if your hubby wants to make one, then he should go for it, atleast it will save you some money. We bought a heat pad, which takes up a little under half the size of the box, so there will still be lots of cool areas for my bitch & puppies to go if they get too hot.

Here's a piccie of the box, sorry it's not a very good one, & my bitch's bed is in it at the moment, as we are trying to get her used to sleeping in it.

[Bisart Dobes]

We have had ours for years - a bought melamine heated box with all the trimmings . It was well worth it. The heating pad in it has 3 settings and most of the time we have only ever had it on low and the heating pad is located in the centre of the box so that our girls and the babies have ample room to move off it if they warm up too much - though the only time they have was when we had 40 degree days and I didn't turn it off early enough . . . (first litter ;) ). The best thing about the melamine is that you can bleach it or sterilise it easily and so it harbours no bugs. We have had mutiple friends borrow it for their litters as well. I wouldn't be without it.

[moko81]

We too where going to buy heated whelping box from a place in Melbourne called Kenol, but we got qouted $520.00 for the size we needed. We decided that seeing this was our first litter, that it was a bit too much to spend. So my hubby went to Bunnings & bought all the parts for $80.00 & made one. ;) He made it out of white Melamine, which should be very easy to clean.

IMO if your hubby wants to make one, then he should go for it, atleast it will save you some money. We bought a heat pad, which takes up a little under half the size of the box, so there will still be lots of cool areas for my bitch & puppies to go if they get too hot.

Here's a piccie of the box, sorry it's not a very good one, & my bitch's bed is in it at the moment, as we are trying to get her used to sleeping in it.

Yea thats the place I called & we were quoted the same as you. Look in the long run it probably would be worth it

but at present it's a bit to much money to fork out especially knowing we still gotta pay for our bitches caeser,

(thats if she's preggars mind you ) but after seeing all the other home made ones

we will definately be making our own.

[moko81]

We have had ours for years - a bought melamine heated box with all the trimmings . It was well worth it. The heating pad in it has 3 settings and most of the time we have only ever had it on low and the heating pad is located in the centre of the box so that our girls and the babies have ample room to move off it if they warm up too much - though the only time they have was when we had 40 degree days and I didn't turn it off early enough . . . (first litter ). The best thing about the melamine is that you can bleach it or sterilise it easily and so it harbours no bugs. We have had mutiple friends borrow it for their litters as well. I wouldn't be without it.

A friend of ours has the same & sez the exact same thing about it. Usually I'm the type of person that always has to have brand new & the best, but unfortunately the best is a little outta reach at the mo' ;) . Would love to buy one but after they add the shipping cost to sydney which was an extra $130 that then puts the box at $650 which is way above what we can afford.

Neva mind I'm sure we'll either find or make one that we can afford & will do us until we can get the heated one

[Bisart Dobes]

Yes - well I'm sure we can all understand $$$$ at the moment .

I note with some amusement though that our girls have all dug out a perfectly formed whelping dens for their puppies when they are outside while pregnant and going through the nesting phase - these projects take several weeks to get to the right dimensions to pass the girls approval - then all I would have to do would be to line it with straw. I am sure that they would go ahead and raise their babies in perfect health as well - not sure how I would go sleeping next to their 'den' though.

Just can't bring myself to let them - so OH gets the job of filling them in when the girls whelp .

[Bulldust]

We have one of those heated Kenol ones, we figured it was a good investment as it should last forever, but since 'discovering' the heat lamp we do not use the heater in the whelping box. I highly recommend the heat lamps! We are lucky and know a pig farmer who has oodles these for his piglets and he gave us some so all we had to buy was the lights. If you get the melamine i would try and make sure the edges where the wood is bare you seal it to make it waterproof as it may warp when it gets wet from being washed.

If we have 2 litters at the same time we dont have a 2nd whelping box so we use a large plush round dog bed bought from Petstock, we take out the padded mattress and replace with paper, blankets etc and hang a light over half of it. We have to be careful though as it has no rails to guard against pups being squashed thats all, and pups cant stay in it once they start making a mess as it takes ages to dry.

[moko81]

We have one of those heated Kenol ones, we figured it was a good investment as it should last forever, but since 'discovering' the heat lamp we do not use the heater in the whelping box. I highly recommend the heat lamps! We are lucky and know a pig farmer who has oodles these for his piglets and he gave us some so all we had to buy was the lights. If you get the melamine i would try and make sure the edges where the wood is bare you seal it to make it waterproof as it may warp when it gets wet from being washed.

If we have 2 litters at the same time we dont have a 2nd whelping box so we use a large plush round dog bed bought from Petstock, we take out the padded mattress and replace with paper, blankets etc and hang a light over half of it. We have to be careful though as it has no rails to guard against pups being squashed thats all, and pups cant stay in it once they start making a mess as it takes ages to dry.

We have a heat lamp which is good, 1 of hubbies many purchases when he discovered ebay A few other people have also recommended heat lamps rather then heat pads & it makes alot of sense.

With the xposed wood on the melamine if you were to purchase some of that metal stuff (can't think of the name or rite phrasing ) would you still have to seal the wood even though it was covering it (hope u understand wat i'm on ;) ) sorry having a clueless moment.

[ish]

You can also get the plastic strips to seal the edges - I think it irons on? No good for chewing obviously, which is where the metal channel would be useful

I got my Dad to make extra tall walls on this whelping box, because my bitch likes a 'cave' - but you can see the plastic strips protecting the edges on the top, and we sealed around the door with some kind of varnish/paint

Oh and it might seem obvious, but see if you can make the floor with once piece. My original whelping box has a join in the middle and even though I seal it up with new silicone each time I use it, the movement of the bitch in and out seems to move it enough to spilt it again.