had my girl confirmed in whelp after a scan last Wednesday :D so its all go now to get organised

my dad has been roped into making a whelping box for me lol ;)

so any help would be appreciated please for those who have made thier own.

1. what did you find was the best material to use ?
2. what did you use for pig rails ?,

thanks for any help

Michelle xx

I had one made for me years ago - I think we used marine ply (waterproof).  Given the choice, if I ever get round to breeding again, I'd probably choose melamine (more waterproof!) and then put some rubber matting on the floor so the newspaper and bedding doesn't slip about.  We used broom handles for pig rails - that was the cheapest way to buy rounded lengths of wood. 

Hope that helps - and have fun :)
Carina

We did 3 times -next time I'll buy one. We just used chip board or plywood and yes broom handles, and the at the end of each litter binned it.

thanks for the help, would you recommend binning a litter box each time or is it safe enough to use
again if the material used is washable, was hoping to get my dad to make it easy to dismantle to store away

As long as they're washable and disinfectable they can certainly safely be reused.

We just binned the as they weren't washable and were only cheap. Like I said next time I'm going to invest in one of the expensive ones as I now (hopefully, assuming all works out with hip scores etc) have two bitches that will be bred from.

Marianne, the upvc ones are super, easily cleaned and can be pressure washed at the end. I have had homemade ones in the past and found the smell seems to linger on them even after disinfecting.

Yes I'm definitely buying one of those. :)

Can't remember the type of wood but it was painted white and waterproof!  Part of it now used as brothers desk!!!! LOL

Just got round wood for pigs rails.

Used lino under the whelping box for easy cleaning :)  Lino cut offs are fine as you will want to chuck it after the litter has gone and they are cheap :)

Also unless you have a table we had the "bed end" of the whelping box coverd at an ideal height and used to store scales, info about puppies etc and also provided somewhere more shelterd which bitch liked (she always felt safe under tables, in cages etc and she was happy with it :)

I used a croft freedom pen lined with cardboard round the inside. The pig rails slotted through the bars (and through the cardboard). The cardboard was thrown out when I transferred pups to plastic beds at about 3-4 weeks. Worked a dream.

Now, Pedlee - that is a really good idea.  The standard size seems to be 49 x 31, but you can buy extra panels, so you could make it 49 inches square which would be a reasonable size for my breed.  Then you could put the orignal 31 inch panels back in to give a bit more length for a play area.  I like it :)  It's also high enough to be able to put a cover over the top to make a sort of a den - which my girls have always liked.  I just hope I remember this when I finally get round to breeding again.

Just got round wood for pigs rails.

Just to say, we found this wasn't strong enough for a large btich as the wood simply bent when laid against -hence using broom handles instead.

My OH made our whelping box, because of my large breed it measured something like 1.7m x 1.5m! he made it out of some waterproof sheets of wood and we did have broom handles ready for the rails.
I did ask him to make it so that it could fold down after we had used and be put away neatly, but he sort of forgot and so now all the bits have been numbered so that when we come to 'erect' it again we know which bit is which! :D

I wouldn't mind buying one though,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I went to a local wood supplier who sells worktops, plywood, etc and picked up four wardrobe sides in melamine. They cost me £1 each!   I put them together using metal brackets and used dowelling for the pig rails.  It all went together very easily and I didn't have any hesitation in burning it afterwards although it would have disinfected and stored, but I kept repeating the mantra "never again"!!

I have a small to medium breed and used a childs inflatable 3 ring paddling pool! have used a paddling pool 4 times now (twice with springer litters) and it has always been successful. Can be cleaned easy and lasts normally til around 3-4 weeks when then the pups go into a cage for more room. Only costs around a fiver to buy!

my hubby is a joiner and made me a brilliant whelping box mesuring 7ft x4ft  it had slats of melmine for the door which we could make higher as they grew, it was made from white melamine , with a divider in the middle for when they are very small and the other side used for storage of bedding etc plus one side had a cover made from 2x2 which we threw a blanket over to make it dark and comfy when they were young, then when the puppies were bigger we used it as a second whelping box making it easier to keep clean  I just moved puppies into the clean side , as they grew we took out the divider and had one large box easy to clean and big enough for them to play in we then added a play pen around the front area so they could play in the box or outside  with load of room for them to sleep at night.We used piping for the pig rails made of plastic that could easily cleaned.
If you want measurements or pics etc PM me.

Roni

brilliant thanks for all the replies lots to think about i like the croft freedom pen idea also,
think we will just go ahead and get 1 made for this litter
thanks again

Michelle xxx

If anyone is thinking of buying one, I would suggest a well known auction site. I brought mine off there, its a plastic type which come in a variety of sizes, You can clean and re-use next time as well - I dont know if I will have the nerve for this again though. LOL! It came to me new at about half the cost of another well known plastic brand. I can fully recommend it.

This is a cheaper version of the snowsilk box, http://www.link-a-bord.com/shop/products.asp?cid=3

oh no Sharon that's the one i bought on eBay cost me £150.00 wish i had have found that site. in saying that its great tho very easy to put together and comes apart in slots so easy to store. no smells and easy to clean.

i also bought a cardboard one on line. only the floor sheet of it was waterproof. but my bitch did tear and chew at it before pups where born whilst i was getting her used to it. so when i seen the plastic one on eBay i thought might as well this one isn't going to last even until pups are born.. needless to say that was the only damage she did to the cardboard one..

just had another look at it and by the time to add in the base boards and the pig rails which i got it comes to £160.. thats not including postage ,... so looks like i got a bargain..

I use a 3 foot square puppy pen with a base or a four foot square one with lino under it (line the sides with cardboard).  These are 30 and 36 inches tall respectively which means I can make a den out of them by covering them over., then as pups grow they can be extended.

Delighted with the one my husband made our of white PVC cladding sides.   Very easy to clean, and 'sterilise' (if that's ever possible).   The rails are white PVC hanging rails from a DIY store, which come with the end fittings to screw on.

Unscrews and packs away really neatly when we've finished with it.

Jo