A Simple Pet Carry Crate made from Recycled Materials

Our family has a new member called “Cobber”.  Cobber* is a Red Heeler or Australian Cattle Dog puppy.  The lady who sold us Cobber suggested we buy a puppy carry crate so he could ride in the car. We were not keen on spending money on a commercially made crate, which we may only use once, so we thought out a much cheaper (free) alternative, using an old grass catcher from a lawn mower.

The grass catcher was perfect for the job because it was reasonably light, had a built in handle, was secure and strong, had good air circulation, allowed the puppy to see out, was safe without rough edges and easy to clean.

The door was made from an old refrigerator shelf. It was strong being made from stainless steel, easy to clean and without rough edges. It was cut to size with bolt cutters and bent to shape to fit over the grass catcher opening.

We bolted a piece of wood to the top of the catcher as a base for a door hinge mechanism.

To enable the door to open freely we used what we had on hand, which were  “U” shaped staple nails, but could have used wire or “U” bolts to make a neater job.

We made a simple toggle locking mechanism out of a piece of scrap wood, which rotates to lock or open the door.

The whole job took less than an hour. The carry box could be used to transport a variety of small animals such as cats, puppies, rabbits, guinea pigs, large lizards and small poultry.

 

Well how did it work in practice? Cobber travelled happily and of course we made regular stops to give him a toilet break and a walk around. We are unlikely to use it for Cobber in the future though, as he has already grown bigger in the past couple of weeks.

*Cobber is an Australian colloquialism meaning "mate" or "friend".