Tatooing Rabbits

[emilyschinchillas]

I am new to rabbits but I am looking into showing. I've read that to show they have to be tatooed. How is that done? Can I do it myself like we do the goats? Or does someone certified at a show have to do it?

 

[Pipp]

I'll move this to the Rabbitry, this is their area.


sas :bunnydance:

 

[woahlookitsme]

Rabbit Bunny Suppliers have made tattooing a much easier job for us lately. There is the EZ TAT by bunnyrabbit.com Its just like writing with a pen that will never come out. This is one way to tattoo. Another is using the clamps with the inserted letters or numbers. If you use this for your goats you can also use it for the bunnies. Depending on what breed determines how easy this way will be. The smaller breeds with smaller ears will be nearly impossible with this tool. I believe the american chins should be fine for both methods. When using the clamp method i know on our goats and meat pens we used the green ink it is best to use black for the green or other colors do not last as long.

 

[emilyschinchillas]

I like the idea of doing the pen like method. It sounds much less painful. My bunny is currently 8 weeks old. Is there a cut off age that you shouldn't tattoo them?

 

[woahlookitsme]

Nope. Not at all. I will have to tattoo a year and a half old brit so no cut off age. People also tattoo pretty young. I decided to when i couldnt tell the difference between babies and i wanted to know which ones were which lol

 

[emilyschinchillas]

Thank you for your responses! I have more questions! Where do you do the tattoo in their ear? Does it hurt really bad? Is the EZ TAT less painful than the clamps?

 

[The Haven Rabbitry]

In my experience, the tattoo pen seems to work better and my rabbits seem to be less affected during the process. I also got better results with the pen as opposed to the clamp... again, this is just my personal opinion.

 

[emilyschinchillas]

I'm sorry if these questions seem stupid...
With the pen, how hard to you have to push it on the ear to make sure it works. Is it the normal pressure of writing with an ink pen? I'm planning to do this myself instead of having someone else do it.

 

[rcohen1982]

There is also a very important tip...ALWAYS tattoo the LEFT ear.

Rachel

 

[woahlookitsme]

^ LOL Yes Please tattoo the left ear for showing purposes.

As far as how hard to push. If you buy the pen you can practice on a banana that seemed to help me out. Read the instructions that come with the pen. Its very educational and really you learn by doing. I always thought of practicing in the right ear to see but i didnt want to freak out the babies more than they had been so i just went for it and it came out pretty nice. I think i have a picture somewhere. . .
I had to go over it a little more after each stroke but no one made noises.

Always make it legible as possible and use capital letters (they are easier to tattoo and to read)

 

[emilyschinchillas]

Ok, I'm looking at bunnyrabbit.com and they have the EZ TAT and RabbiTat. Which is going to be the best? I've pretty much decided that I want the pen style so I'll be able to do touch ups whenever I need to. Hopefully there will be more bunnies in the near future that need some ink work! Does it matter where in the LEFT ear? Haha, I will make sure I do the left but does the locale matter? like edge or middle?

 

[woahlookitsme]

Well they say you want to avoid the two major veins located in the ear. the pen will show you a picture where these veins flow and where you should aim for.

We bought the ez tat and it had the highly useful informational booklet im not sure about the rabbitatt

 

[rcohen1982]

Also if you look at the ear in sunlight or bright light you can actually see where the major veins are. I use a fine time sharpie of where I want the tattoo and so it will be lined up right, and then double check that it isn't by the veins before I tatoo. I wipe off the marker about 3 days after the tattoo and if I need to touch up I do it at that time. But I haven't had to touch up too much yet.

Rachel

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

The people I know use the EZ tatt.

We always used to use the clamp, and I think I am going to buy an EZ tat.

The thing I liked about the clamp style is its one quick movement and you're done.

We just tattooed a bunch of rabbits 2 weeks ago at a show. My does were uneffected by it. I don't think the girl was pushing hard enough to be honest.

and then we did one of her does, and she HATES the pen. So it was a pain in the ass because she would not sit still so she had to keep starting over. And wait for her to settle down. Honestly in this case I would PREFER the clamp.

and then I like the EZ tat better because someone who is good with it, makes the tattoo look amazing.