# flush-kleen cage system by Bass anyone??



## josafeen (Nov 4, 2010)

cuz I think I just fell in love...

http://www.bassequipment.com/Cages/Rabbit+Cages/FlushKleen+Cage+and+Rack/default.aspx

course, I cannot afford it, but I can dream.


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## josafeen (Nov 4, 2010)

oh shoot! I just realized that the post title sounds like i have one available :-0 im sorry! i will see if i can change that.
Darn. since i posted to it, the edit function is gone i guess. my bad.


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## bassmaster17327 (Apr 6, 2011)

I have looked at them befor on their website. It seems like you loose alot of space because they are only two cages high instead of three. I would think that you could build somthing a lot cheaper with some plastic and maybe some rain gutter


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## josafeen (Nov 4, 2010)

Yes, i agree. I am going to go to home depot and price the rigid corrugated platic sheets (i saw somebody elses setup, with slanted sheets and half pipe gutters, and am thinking its an affordable alternative). I really really want to expand but need to get my system dialed in first


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## josafeen (Nov 4, 2010)

do you have yours three high? how big are the cages?


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## josafeen (Nov 4, 2010)

Got my 30 fee of vinyl gutter and sheets of poly vinyl....im gonna do this thing!!!


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## Fat Man (Mar 9, 2011)

bassmaster17327 said:


> I would think that you could build somthing a lot cheaper with some plastic and maybe some rain gutter


I've been thinking of doing this with a screen instead of plastic. I want to collect the manure but not the urine.


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## Roadkill (Apr 21, 2011)

Fat Man said:


> I've been thinking of doing this with a screen instead of plastic. I want to collect the manure but not the urine.



That's an interesting idea...


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Fat Man said:


> I've been thinking of doing this with a screen instead of plastic. I want to collect the manure but not the urine.


I am afraid the screen will get clogged.


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## josafeen (Nov 4, 2010)

what if you just had the gutter run to a bin with holes drilled in the bottom (either sitting on the dirt, or sitting inside of another bin which contains the urine). If i can get the system working well, i want to put nozzles in place to whish out the gutter daily or twice daily. I wonder what kind of nozzles i would use? hmm


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## josafeen (Nov 4, 2010)

What would be ultimate would be for me to dig a compost pit that the poop is channeled directly into thereby skipping any handling of it at all, until its composted (except the stuff i skim for direct garden application 
What we need is a mechanical engineer/inventor turned rabbit farmer


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

Instead of screen, how about hardwire cloth? Like 1/2"X1/2" or even 1/4"X1/4". I think the 1/2" would work fine, the 1/4" might clog a bit too easy.


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## josafeen (Nov 4, 2010)

thats what i was thinking too (but couldnt remember what its called lol)


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

I put plastic sheeting under my cages and the poop does not roll. it's the kind of plastic gas stations make signs out of. My cages are set in old shelves that were built into the shed room. So the cages are one shelf and the plastic under them on a different shelf. the plastic is so that it drains to the middle of the row of cages.
But like I said the poop doesn't roll, so only the liquid drains into a tote located below the shelf. Which leaves the dry poop on the shelf.
Since the waste is on the shelf, I can just place a plastic tote in front of the shelf and scrape the poop into it.


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## josafeen (Nov 4, 2010)

what angle is it at? do you think that would make a difference?


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

I have found that they have to be squeeky clean for it to roll. I don't have the time to keep them that way.
I have a couple made from aluminum roofing and its the same with that.
After awhile calcium builds up on the plastic or metal and you cann't get it clean enough.
I quit worrying about it.


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## AprilW (Nov 25, 2007)

This is my friend's website: http://natureschild.net/SCG/barn.html

She created something similar to the FlushKleen and gives a bit of info on how she did it. I've seen it in person and it works really well - much less time involved in keeping the cages clean.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

that is a nice set up.
I gave up on stacking cages a couple of years ago. The bottom cage always had some problem or another. Often the upper rabbit would pee on the feeder or water bottle of the lower rabbit.

How does she keep the floor so clean? My rabbits back up to the front of the cage and pee.


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## AprilW (Nov 25, 2007)

Those gutters extend out far enough that rabbits can't miss it.


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

I have corrugated plastic roofing under my cages at an angle. I've had it at sharper angles and lesser angles. The poop will roll for the first day or so, but soon starts to collect. I have a bench brush, not sure what the technical name for it is, that has the handle and it extends out. I just run the brush down it to knock all the waste into a tote at the end of the line.

I think the flush clean system works off of very regular cleaning, once a day if not more. Your water consumption would probably jump drastically.

I believe the flush clean system was designed more for a laboratory type setting, where they would spray the system down at least once a day. 

That being said, I will usually spray my plastic sheeting off about once a week. The rabbits* HATE *it, because no matter how careful I am, there is always spray that comes up into the cages. (The manure and urine have already been pushed down, just spraying to keep the hair from collecting).


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## josafeen (Nov 4, 2010)

april that is hot diggity! its exactly what i was thinking, with improvements i hadnt thought of (support under the flexible plastic for example)

hmm, im bummed that the poop doesnt roll. i wonder if theres a solution or if you just gotta deal with it.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

I scrape the plastic sheeting, but I don't want to spray inside the rabbitry.
All the cages and plastic are taken out side to be washed down.
The humidity and splashing of water up on the rabbits has caused me some trouble. It may or may not be a coinsidence but I have had rabbits get respitory problems after wards.
I do use a gallon of vinegar water to rinse if the plastic is too dirty between out side cleaning to cut down amonia smell. I use the same vinegar water for other spot cleaning jobs. 
I am thinking I may have to put urine guards in the front of my cages too.
My girls really get out there.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

My cages all had trays under them, so i just put the trays upside down on the waste shelves and put the plastic on them. The same peice of plastic is shaped so it acts as a back guard and the waste tray.

There was a guy on here who said his system was self cleaning, but the bottom of his cages were 4 to 4 1/2 foot off the ground and the waste bucket sat on the ground.


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