101 Different Ways to Build Homes and Pens for Your Animals: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

By Randy LaTour

Animals need their own space, and no where is this more apparent that for those who own multiple animals. When not given their own private space to be alone many animals, especially dogs and livestock will become overly territorial. Yet many owners put off or overlook the need for building homes for their animals because they think it might be too hard or time consuming. Written for every pet and livestock owner who has sighed or groaned at the prospect of building a home for their animals, this book shows you 101 different ways you can effectively build a viable home for your animals. You will learn how to create homes from scratch for dozens of different kinds of animals. First and foremost you will learn how to assess the needs of your animals according to breed and personality. You will learn what features these homes need to match your animals according to size, feeding habits, gender, whether you have more than one, and whether they will be bred or not. You will learn which building materials are best for which breeds homes. Experts ranging from dog and cat breeders to small farmers have been interviewed for this book to learn more about their experiences with animal homes and they have provided a number of insights into how these homes can and should be built.

Atlantic Publishing is a small, independent publishing company based in Ocala, Florida. Founded over twenty years ago in the company president’s garage, Atlantic Publishing has grown to become a renowned resource for non-fiction books. Today, over 450 titles are in print covering subjects such as small business, healthy living, management, finance, careers, and real estate. Atlantic Publishing prides itself on producing award winning, high-quality manuals that give readers up-to-date, pertinent information, real-world examples, and case studies with expert advice. Every book has resources, contact information, and web sites of the products or companies discussed.

This Atlantic Publishing eBook was professionally written, edited, fact checked, proofed and designed. You receive the same content as the print version of this book. Over the years our books have won dozens of book awards for content, cover design and interior design including the prestigious Benjamin Franklin award for excellence in publishing. We are proud of the high quality of our books and hope you will enjoy this eBook version.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Group Inc.
• Release date: Mar 18, 2011
• ISBN: 9781601387813

Book preview

101 Different Ways to Build Homes and Pens for Your Animals

A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

By Randy LaTour, Industrial Designer, and Sarah Ann Beckman, Co-Author

101 Different Ways to Build Homes and Pens for Your Animals: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Copyright © 2011 Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.

1405 SW 6th Avenue • Ocala, Florida 34471

Phone [phone] • Fax [phone]

Web site: www.atlantic-pub.com • E-mail: [e-mail]

SAN Number: 268-1250

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be sent to Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc., 1405 SW 6th Avenue, Ocala, Florida 34471.

LaTour, Randy, 1959-

101 different ways to build homes and pens for your animals : a complete step-by-step guide / by Randy LaTour.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60138-371-6 (alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 1-60138-371-1 (alk. paper)

1. Animal housing. I. Title. II. Title: One hundred one different ways to build homes and pens for your animals.

SF91.L38 2010

636.08’31--dc22

2010045856

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: All trademarks, trade names, or logos mentioned or used are the property of their respective owners and are used only to directly describe the products being provided. Every effort has been made to properly capitalize, punctuate, identify, and attribute trademarks and trade names to their respective owners, including the use of ® and ™ wherever possible and practical. Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc. is not a partner, affiliate, or licensee with the holders of said trademarks.

A few years back we lost our beloved pet dog Bear, who was not only our best and dearest friend but also the Vice President of Sunshine here at Atlantic Publishing. He did not receive a salary but worked tirelessly 24 hours a day to please his parents.

Bear was a rescue dog who turned around and showered myself, my wife, Sherri, his grandparents Jean, Bob, and Nancy, and every person and animal he met (well, maybe not rabbits) with friendship and love. He made a lot of people smile every day.

We wanted you to know a portion of the profits of this book will be donated in Bear’s memory to local animal shelters, parks, conservation organizations, and other individuals and nonprofit organizations in need of assistance.

– Douglas and Sherri Brown

PS: We have since adopted two more rescue dogs: first Scout, and the following year, Ginger. They were both mixed golden retrievers who needed a home.

Want to help animals and the world? Here are a dozen easy suggestions you and your family can implement today:

Adopt and rescue a pet from a local shelter.

Support local and no-kill animal shelters.

Plant a tree to honor someone you love.

Be a developer — put up some birdhouses.

Buy live, potted Christmas trees and replant them.

Make sure you spend time with your animals each day.

Save natural resources by recycling and buying recycled products.

Drink tap water, or filter your own water at home.

Whenever possible, limit your use of or do not use pesticides.

If you eat seafood, make sustainable choices.

Support your local farmers market.

Get outside. Visit a park, volunteer, walk your dog, or ride your bike.

Five years ago, Atlantic Publishing signed the Green Press Initiative. These guidelines promote environmentally friendly practices, such as using recycled stock and vegetable-based inks, avoiding waste, choosing energy-efficient resources, and promoting a no-pulping policy. We now use 100-percent recycled stock on all our books. The results: in one year, switching to post-consumer recycled stock saved 24 mature trees, 5,000 gallons of water, the equivalent of the total energy used for one home in a year, and the equivalent of the greenhouse gases from one car driven for a year.

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this book to my father, who inspired me to be creative and who taught me how to make something from nothing. I remember growing up as a little boy and watching my father work on handyman projects around the house. He would take scrap material and transform it into a useful item. If anything was broken, he could fix it. While others may discard a broken chair, he would find a way to salvage and repair the chair, adding 20 years to its life. Thanks for the life lessons.

Author Biography

Randy LaTour began working as a design engineer immediately following college. With more than 20 years of design experience, he has created everything from custom machinery with complex material handling systems to simple structures such as tree house plans. One of his more notable design accomplishments is engineering, fabricating, and piloting a championship-winning racecar.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Before You Get Started

Chapter 2: Building a Doghouse

Chapter 3: A Home for Your Cat

Chapter 4: Birdcages, Birdhouses, and Flight Enclosures

Chapter 5: Fish Aquariums

Chapter 6: Building a Turtle Aquarium

Chapter 7: Building Snake Pens

Chapter 8: Homes for Guinea Pigs, Hamsters, Gerbils, and Rabbits

Chapter 9: Homes for Chickens, Ducks, and Geese

Chapter 10: Building a Horse Barn

Chapter 11: Homes for Goats and Sheep

Conclusion

Glossary

Bibliography

Introduction

This book was created for pet owners and animal lovers as a construction guide for building your animal friend a comfortable home or habitat. The following chapters will provide step-by-step instructions that will allow the do-it-yourself handyperson to complete the