Need some information on building a rat cage?

No, chicken wire is not safe. It is made from thin wire that will rust. Further, the edges are sharp and pointy and cannot be altered to make them safe. Hardware cloth, on the other hand, is sturdy, will not rust (powder coated) and the ends can be cut and filed so that it is safe for your rats. DapperRat discusses using hardware cloth in a homemade cage in the links below:

http://www.dapper.com.au/cagebuild.htm

http://www.dapper.com.au/grotto.htm

RatFanClub also has details on the type of wire to use in a homemade cage as well as how to prepare it. Link follows:

http://www.ratfanclub.org/cagepln3.html

I ran across an article that explains the danger of chicken wire and the benefit of using hardware cloth. Ironically it is a project for making a chicken coop.

http://jackshenhouse.com/VSChickCoop.htm

Rat forums are another great resource you can try for further ideas. The forum I use most is below:

http://www.ratforum.com/

Hardware cloth, not chicken wire, but it has to be powder coated or otherwise properly treated or it will soak up urine and rust. Which means major stink AND danger to the rats.

May i ask what kind of cage you are attempting to make? Home made cages used to be very popular, until rat owners started to figure out that:

A) Some types are not suitable for rats - like the popular grotto or bookshelf styles. They are no better than tanks, which are not suitable at ALL. The solid siding restricted airflow and causes respiratory problems.

or

B) They do not last long enough to be worth the time/money/effort. Wood rots when it gets wet from water/urine. No matter what "treatment" you use to protect it from water/urine, rats CHEW. Any little chips in the protection mean urine/water seeps in. Wire mesh hardware cloth also rusts if it gets wet, and that is dangerous.

or

C) Using the right materials in and of itself means the project becomes just as expensive as one of the cheaper regular cages. You can't just use cheap lumber (especially pine or cedar lumber) and cheap wire. You need treated stuff that is safe for animals.

Just wants to FYI you on that.