Tattooing advice

Another member o my rabbit community has asked me to tattoo her rabbits on Saturday.
I have had my tattooer for about a year but I am not super good at it.
It is a clamp style. I think I have all the stuff I need, baby wipes, extra ink, kleenexes and treats.
I practiced on a few of my rabbits. I am feeling pretty comfident but I just thought I would ask you guys to give a little advice.
Thanks

When I used a clamp I had a lot of trouble getting proper ink penetration, so I would just say don't scrimp on the ink and try to rub it in really well. You should make sure to clamp really hard too, so you get deep holes.

MamaSheepdog, how difficult do you find it is to get a legible tattoo with the pen? I am trying to decide if I want to get the pen type or clamp type. I don't have the best handwritting, but if they didn't squirm too much I could probably do it ok.

ek.blair they squirm a lot oh and scream.
mamasheepdog, How hard should I clamp? I have clamped to hard before and it was a firework of blood. I definately use a lot of ink. I swab some on then dab at it with the kleenex then swab more on and dab again.

yea, I figured they wouldn't enjoy it... I will have a helper to hold the rabbits at least. I was just thinking about using the pen type that way I am not limited to the length of the tattoo... although I probably wouldn't want to make them too long :lol:

ek.blair":34mvkdpy said:

MamaSheepdog, how difficult do you find it is to get a legible tattoo with the pen?

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It's easy. I always write the tattoo with a fine Sharpie first and use that as a guide. You just need to have fast reaction time if the rabbit flinches and whisk the pen away from the ear so you don't mark where you don't want to.

This is a tat on a Satin, and they are very twitchy rabbits:

ek.blair":34mvkdpy said:

I was just thinking about using the pen type that way I am not limited to the length of the tattoo... although I probably wouldn't want to make them too long :lol:

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You can make them any length you want. Here is one of my Rex with a long tattoo:

ek.blair":34mvkdpy said:

I figured they wouldn't enjoy it... I will have a helper to hold the rabbits at least.

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Once you develop good technique (not pressing too hard with the pen), the rabbits don't mind much. I just hold mine on my lap now for the most part. Some need to be wrapped in a towel but that is a small percentage.

bunnychild":34mvkdpy said:

How hard should I clamp?

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I have heard that you want the needles to actually go through the ear. :x

bunnychild":34mvkdpy said:

it was a firework of blood.

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There is a big vein that runs the length of the ear that you want to avoid piercing. Either use a flashlight to shine light through the ear or have the sun behind the rabbit so you can see the vein before deciding where to place the clamp. You can actually see the vein in the pic of the Rex above.

Baby teething gel goes a long way towards getting a good tat, i disinfect, apply oragel and then use the pen with a good ink. Clamps make them scream and i hate that. Last week i did my best ever tat and my worst, luckily worst was a pet home.

I've been having trouble tattooing - I must not be pressing hard enough because after 6 to 8 weeks the tattoos are nearly gone. I don't know if it's the cheap pen I have - the ink - or me... I'm thinking the pen isn't sharp/strong enough.

I like the end result of the solid lines that you get with the pen better than the clamp, now I just have to convince my husband to let me get the pen... he doesn't think I'll be able to do it! :shock:

I just did 6 rabbits with a pen today and I had a heck of a time. Guess I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I got it done, but it was difficult.

RR MiniSatins":jmv3mbry said:

I just did 6 rabbits with a pen today and I had a heck of a time. Guess I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I got it done, but it was difficult.

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were they squirming, or using the pen itself was difficult? I have heard there is a learning curve to the pen, but I hvae been looking into the KBTatts pen and really like it.

Invest in a tattoo box..............it's the only way to work with larger meat
breed rabbits. I use the clamp style, the tattoo box, a heavy ink, and a
"very" stiff small brush to work the ink into the punctures.

Yes.......they will scream. However, it's only for a moment and the rabbit
is just fine afterwards. I've tried "holding-them"..."rolling" them up in a
towel...just about every way imaginable. But the box, is the quickest, safest,
way for both the rabbit and yourself.

DON'T put ink on the numbers prior to puncturing....you end up with a mess
and a poor-quality tat in the end.

grumpy.

I haven't used a clamp yet, but I LOVE my KBtatt. I did that rabbitatt or something like that, and it sucked. I could get the job done, but the the KBtatt has a 5 prong, instead of 3 prong.

I usually set up a table thats slightly lower than my chest, wrap them up snuggly and cover the face, flip them on their side (they can't get leverage) and press firmly down with my chest to keep them in place. It looks goofy, but I always get a great tattoo. I take left free hand, and take the ear and press my thumb up it so the ear is convex. I tattoo with the right really quick and then it's done quickly.

grumpy":2cee7hnk said:

Invest in a tattoo box..............it's the only way to work with larger meat
breed rabbits. I use the clamp style, the tattoo box, a heavy ink, and a
"very" stiff small brush to work the ink into the punctures.

Yes.......they will scream. However, it's only for a moment and the rabbit
is just fine afterwards. I've tried "holding-them"..."rolling" them up in a
towel...just about every way imaginable. But the box, is the quickest, safest,
way for both the rabbit and yourself.

DON'T put ink on the numbers prior to puncturing....you end up with a mess
and a poor-quality tat in the end.

grumpy.

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That sounda very similar to the box that a goat kid is put into when you de-horn them. They scream, but once its all done, they go back to their bouncy happy selves. At least Tattooing won't STINK like burning flesh

I have the kbatts pen and I don't know if I'm pressing too hard or not hard enough, I had someone holding them and they would stay quiet for a little bit but the pen must get them every now and again because they jerk quite often. I'm also having a hard time getting used to holding and using the pen, especially with the rounded numbers and letters. The manufacturer says to use the bunny balm or something similar so the ink flows better, but that just seems to make a mess. If I try using a fine sharpie or their stencil pen, then the balm just smears it like crazy. I'm not sure my buns can handle any more of my learning curve Think I might go back to the clamp, they do seem to squeal but it's so much quicker that maybe it won't stress them as much (takes me quite awhile with the pen).

Here's how I do mine and other than some jerking on occasion everything normally goes well....

I use orajell and put a amount on my finger and rub the inside of the rabbits ear where I'm going to tattoo. I do this first and do all rabbits I plan on tattooing. They are normally returned to their cage while each is being treated. My theory is that the longer the gel is on the ear, the better the numbing effect will be.

Second step is one rabbit at a time. I swab the inside of the ear with rubbing alcohol to disinfect and cleanse the ear. I then, like MSD, take a fine sharpie marker and write the tattoo in the ear as a stencil to follow with the pen. With the gel swabbed off by the alcohol the sharpie stencil stays clear and doesn't smear

I use the "Inkinator" pen to make my tattoos and find that very little pressure is needed for a lasting tattoo. I do use a human grade tattoo ink - in my case Kurimo (I think that's the brand...) King Cobra Black. So far my tattoos have lasted; as I have several going on two years that are still as legible as the day they were made.

Thanks! I have four more to do and I will try that method, I think maybe I was pressing too hard and using the bunny balm did make it messy and hard to follow the lines. I do like the looks of the pen tattoo much better.

Wheels":uqzz78s3 said:

I've been having trouble tattooing - I must not be pressing hard enough because after 6 to 8 weeks the tattoos are nearly gone. I don't know if it's the cheap pen I have - the ink - or me... I'm thinking the pen isn't sharp/strong enough.

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Do you wipe the ink off of the ear after you do the initial tattoo? I always swab the ear to check for good penetration into the tissue and go over my lines as necessary. I also go over each stroke several times- not just once as you would writing with a normal pen on paper.

Lastfling":uqzz78s3 said:

I do use a human grade tattoo ink

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I also use human grade ink. I spoke to a tattoo artist to find out the best type to use and he recommended Kuro Sumi black outlining ink. I bought it from Amazon.

Lastfling":uqzz78s3 said:

Here's how I do mine and other than some jerking on occasion everything normally goes well....

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My method is similar, and I also have a Lidocaine spray that I bought from the same vendor on Amazon as my ink. However, before that I used the strongest concentration of generic Orajel available. (Read the active ingredients- the names are misleading, and the "Extra extra strength" may not be any stronger than the others!)

I have show transport cages so I put each litter into those. I swab the ears with alcohol, then take each rabbit out to weigh it since they are numbered according to their weight. I write the weight of each rabbit on a piece of paper and then mark them once all have been weighed. I no longer use a numbing agent as a matter of course, but when I did, I would give them a swipe over my sharpie "template". By the time the last rabbit in the litter was marked the gel would have had ample time to take effect.

Now that my technique has improved most of the rabbits don't react very much. If I do have a twitchy one I moisten a cotton swab with my spray and go over the area I am tattooing. I think that when the skin is already pierced by the needle it takes effect more quickly, so I just pet the rabbit for a little bit to calm it and then begin again.

As with any skill, the more you practice, the better you get. So when I first started using the pen I would do the full 5 digit tattoo on each kit in every litter even if I knew they were destined for the freezer. Now I just give one or two in a litter the full tattoo and only the first three digits for the others.

My method is buck's initial, doe's initial, rank in litter, month, year. X = November and Z = December. I have recently started using the Roman numeral V for five since the number 5 can be mistaken for an S on the show table, plus a "V" is much easier to mark than a "5".

I like to be able to just glance in a rabbit's ear and know who it is out of and its approximate age. For instance, Ceeya, the broken blue rabbit above, is (Well- was! She has since been made into tacos or something.) out of Greystone and Avalon, 2nd largest kit in the litter, born in the 10th month (0 = October) of 2012.

The VG stands for Victory Garden Rabbits but I have since dropped that... I flip flop back and forth on marking my rabbitry initials because it makes for a long tattoo, and the judges seem to like shorter ones unless it is an actual word. :roll:

Grumpy, do you have a picture you could post of a tattoo box? Would they work for smaller rabbits also? I never have any help available so I need to find a good way to restrain them by myself. Thanks

Have a look at this thread RR. He, (Grumpy), has posted the information with pictures here; http://rabbittalk.com/photos-or-plans-for-a-tattoo-box-t17530.html

:lilbunny: