What do I need to know about tattooing?

[Ms. Research]

My girls 4-H leader does our rabbits. She puts the ink on the ear before tatooing so we don't have to mess with it after the tatoo is done except to put some neosporin on. Its like getting your kids ears pierced. Some kids cry some don't. We try to miss the big vein that runs up the ear because it bleeds quite a bit.

Very good tip to have. I was wondering about that. Thanks for sharing.

K

 

[Citylife]

I tried the pen tattooer and practiced on banana skins like they recommend and I did beautifully. Then I went to rabbits.
Then I found out......... You need to practice on JUMPING, twisting, clawing banana's.

I sold the pen.

 

[SarahMelisse]

started out tatooing goats, so those letters were too big. found some at local farm store, one set of numbers and i bought letters, around $30.00. then they had a sale on extra letters and numbers, bought them all.(yeah greedy, but you never know). i use a pillowcase with a hole in the end. stuff the rabbit in, pull the ear out. is best to have someone hold and pet the bunny to relax it while you get everything ready.
alcohol and cloth to wipe ear before the procedure
tattoo with wanted letters and numbers (check on paper before doing the rabbit)
clamp the tattoer onto the correct ear. (i have had one rabbit make a noise while being done)
smear and rub tatto ink into the holes. remove rabbit from pillowcase
use whatever numers and letters you want to identify your rabbit

I've seen the same thing done with a box with a slit in the top for the ear, but a pillowcase seems much more accessible.

 

[DKRabbitry]

Then I found out......... You need to practice on JUMPING, twisting, clawing banana's.

I sold the pen.

That is HILARIOUS! I love my pen. I would use it over the clamp anyday. I tried practicing on a banana and didn't actually get it. We had a bunch of fryers at the time that were about ready for butcher soooo... they got all sorts of pretty things and writings in their ears LOL
We had problems with the clamp disappearing after like 10 months or so. That was when we switched to the pen. Later found out it was just the ink with the clamp, but I still like my pen better. I got the EZ Tatt. My next adventure... The tail web of goats! MWHAHAHAHAHA!

 

[DianeS]

Wow, a lot of good information! Keep it coming!

 

[oneacrefarm]

My girls 4-H leader does our rabbits. She puts the ink on the ear before tatooing so we don't have to mess with it after the tatoo is done except to put some neosporin on. Its like getting your kids ears pierced. Some kids cry some don't. We try to miss the big vein that runs up the ear because it bleeds quite a bit.

The downside to this is that IF your rabbit does not cooperate and they jerk or flinch and mess up the tattoo, you are stuck with it since the ink is already in the ear. They calm down very fast afterward and we never have trouble inking, wiping and putting on bag balm. Oh, and not sure with rabbits, but on tat's for people, you don't want to use Neosporin...it can make the ink fade.

 

[terri9630]

My girls 4-H leader does our rabbits. She puts the ink on the ear before tatooing so we don't have to mess with it after the tatoo is done except to put some neosporin on. Its like getting your kids ears pierced. Some kids cry some don't. We try to miss the big vein that runs up the ear because it bleeds quite a bit.

The downside to this is that IF your rabbit does not cooperate and they jerk or flinch and mess up the tattoo, you are stuck with it since the ink is already in the ear. They calm down very fast afterward and we never have trouble inking, wiping and putting on bag balm. Oh, and not sure with rabbits, but on tat's for people, you don't want to use Neosporin...it can make the ink fade.

We haven't had any problems with fading ink. For the tatooing we wrap the rabbit in a towel except for the ear. One person holds and one person does the tat. The smaller kids and "new parents" who may be squemish aren't allowed to help just to make sure the rabbit is held firm but not too tight.

 

[CYGChickies]

When you say more than one set of numbers or letters, are there different numbers and letters for different BREEDS of rabbits. I know you raise Lionheads, Hotots and New Zealands. Does the breed or the LINE of the rabbit have different numbers and letters? Hope I'm being clear with my question. lol

K

Yes I use a letter for breed first, then 1 or 2 to identify gender, then the final numbers chronologically. I won't tattoo rabbits that are moving on to other rabbitries so I doubt I'll EVER run out of numbers to count each gender of each breed. For example,French Angora Victoria would be F101 and Sebastian would be F201. My New Zealands are Z, Lionheads L and Dwarf Hotots H.

CYG

 

[lastfling]

My system is to 1st ltr of bucks name, first letter of doe's name, litter number, sequential number in litter. I.E. Cedar bred to Mayetta for the first time producing a litter of 2 would be - CM11, CM12. The second breeding of this pair would be CM21, CM22, etc. I figure as far as sex, etc., I've got that info in my records. If a name begins with the same letter, I would add an additional letter. I guess there are as many ways to do this as there are people to do it.