First Show and Some Questions

[Peach]

So glad you had a great time! Showing rabbits is fun and most people are there for the same reasons. I remember being so shy and alone at my first show, now we have the good, easy going group that I hang out regularly at shows and at home. It's nice to be around people that share the same interest!

 

[skysthelimit]

You can register any rabbit if it's at least 6 mos old, a good representative, free of DQs, it does not need to have one legs, I have registered rabbits that have never been shown.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I know how to tattoo.

Knowing how and knowing what are two different things .... do you just pick a letter or combination of letters to represent your rabbitry and then a number combination to identify the individual rabbit ?

You can only use letters or numbers no symbols, but beyond that you can do whatever you want- even a single digit.

My method tells me the Sire, Dam, Rank # in litter by weight, month and year born.

For instance, I just tattooed a litter by Take 2 and Fourteen. They were born in December (represented by a Z- January through October are 1-0, November is X and December is Z.) of 2013.

The heaviest kit in the litter is therefore TF1Z3.

For this system to work I never have more than one buck or doe of the same breed with a name starting with the same letter.

 

[PSFAngoras]

Thanks sky, I didn't know about the registering.

As far as tats, I have a small enough rabbitry and I keep a record of every rabbit that lives on the property for even the shortest amount of time, so I just tattoo PSF for postage stamp farm on the rabbits that I've bred out, and then a number. I just set up this system, so My next litter starts at 007. So total, the tattoo looks like PSF007.

I don't tattoo my meat mutts, but every angora gets a tattoo and a pedigree, even if they don't sell/aren't showable and end up in the stew pot. The pedigrees just then goes in the file of bunnies that have gotten eaten, or passed away on the property if such is the case.

Breeders that I have bought just get their name tattooed in their ear, since I won't show rabbits that I have not bred out myself. I'm small enough that I could easily get away without tattooing rabbits I buy in, I know everyone very well and everyone has names, but I like tattooing them anyway!

 

[Ramjet]

I know how to tattoo.

Knowing how and knowing what are two different things .... do you just pick a letter or combination of letters to represent your rabbitry and then a number combination to identify the individual rabbit ?

You can only use letters or numbers no symbols, but beyond that you can do whatever you want- even a single digit.

My method tells me the Sire, Dam, Rank # in litter by weight, month and year born.

For instance, I just tattooed a litter by Take 2 and Fourteen. They were born in December (represented by a Z- January through October are 1-0, November is X and December is Z.) of 2013.

The heaviest kit in the litter is therefore TF1Z3.

For this system to work I never have more than one buck or doe of the same breed with a name starting with the same letter.

Thanks for this explanation MSD , I was wondering if there was some standardization to the marks or .... if it was simply what up to the owner of the rabbit.

PSF & MSD , would either of you have the ability to post a video of your equipment and its use ?? .... I cant imagine using my tattoo equipment , a single needle set up (which was hand made over 20 years ago) to tattoo rabbits ....

 

[PSFAngoras]

I used to tattoo people too, so my equipment is just my old people equipment!

I use a 3R (three needles grouped in a round pattern for those unfamiliar with tattoo lingo) needle though, I find the lines come out much bolder and clearer.

I almost bought an easy tat gun at the show this weekend so I could just sell my human setup, but honestly, they look chintzy and cheap. There is no adjustable speed setting, nearly the whole setup is plastic, and the needle looks like it sticks out too far to get clear, precise lines. I tattoo my kits at 4-6 weeks, and I try to keep the tat small, so I would like something that won't muck up the letters and numbers at that size. Until I find a kit that looks better quality, I'm sticking wih what I have!

 

[Ramjet]

I used to tattoo people too, so my equipment is just my old people equipment!

I use a 3R (three needles grouped in a round pattern for those unfamiliar with tattoo lingo) needle though, I find the lines come out much bolder and clearer.

I almost bought an easy tat gun at the show this weekend so I could just sell my human setup, but honestly, they look chintzy and cheap. There is no adjustable speed setting, nearly the whole setup is plastic, and the needle looks like it sticks out too far to get clear, precise lines. I tattoo my kits at 4-6 weeks, and I try to keep the tat small, so I would like something that won't muck up the letters and numbers at that size. Until I find a kit that looks better quality, I'm sticking wih what I have!

My machine consists of a hand wound relay and a bunch of .... junk I had laying around , like a magnet , pen , couple rubber bands and a guitar string for a needle. What I was able to accomplish with it was nothing short of amazing .... But I doubt its going to be useful in this application. Its quite tedious to operate , couple that with a squirming rabbit .... ugh.

 

[skysthelimit]

Human grade tatt guns are much sturdier

I only tatt if they are shown or bred. I cull so many, I don't even bother with the ones I don't keep. Some buns are lucky enough to get names tatted.

 

[Ramjet]

Human grade tatt guns are much sturdier

I only tatt if they are shown or bred. I cull so many, I don't even bother with the ones I don't keep. Some buns are lucky enough to get names tatted.

This is likely what I'd do .... just tattoo those I bred or showed. No sense wasting the effort on a bun that's going to the freezer camp.

How do you get them to hold still ? I was thinking of making something to immobilize them ... any bright idea's ?!

 

[Homer]

How do you get them to hold still ? I was thinking of making something to immobilize them ... any bright idea's ?!

Bunny Burrito.

 

[Ramjet]

How do you get them to hold still ? I was thinking of making something to immobilize them ... any bright idea's ?!

Bunny Burrito.

Wrap them in a towel or blanket ?! .... makes perfect sense.

 

[Mickey328]

wrap them snugly in a towel, with their hind legs stretched out behind them...bunny burrito!

 

[PSFAngoras]

I can honestly say that when I tattoo bunnies is the only time I'm happy my washer eats holes in things. I have several holey bath towels that work perfectly to wrap a whole rabbit in and then have just the ear sticking out!

 

[skysthelimit]

Now you all are going to look at the screen funny...

but I don't wrap the buns.

Not with the clamp or the pen. The clamp is quick squeeze, and I cradle the bun in my arm, and it's done. Mines fought the wrap to much it made it harder for me to tatt. No fighting in my arms.
With the pen I am cradling them on the table, and usually i can write 2-3characters before they move. Occasionally I have one who needs to lie on my lap so I can open the ear.

 

[PSFAngoras]

I can see that, but my rabbits are very twitchy! It would never work if I couldn't get them wrapped.

I think part of it is that since I've tattooed people, I know how deep the ink needs to go. Not saying that your not doing it right, just saying I have a bit of a tendency to dig. The bright side to that is that all of my tattoos on my bunnies still look like they were done only yesterday, no fading or blurring!

 

[Ramjet]

I can see that, but my rabbits are very twitchy! It would never work if I couldn't get them wrapped.

I think part of it is that since I've tattooed people, I know how deep the ink needs to go. Not saying that your not doing it right, just saying I have a bit of a tendency to dig. The bright side to that is that all of my tattoos on my bunnies still look like they were done only yesterday, no fading or blurring!

You see , its my experience working on humans that really makes me wonder how it'll translate to rabbits .... my equipment required a bit of skin manipulation on the users part , keeping the skin taut for proper penetration. Maybe its the difference between professional grade equipment & my ... hand made pile of scraps.

Its been nearly two decades since I've done a tattoo but I had been doing some very large & extravagant pieces , a couple of which were in the 80-100 hour range to complete.

Maybe I should invest in something more professional than this ... improvised pile of parts.

 

[HoppinHalfPints]

...Is the State Fair really that bad? I've never been. Was considering making the time this year, but if it's that bad, ...

Yes it is, I live here and wouldn't even think of taking one of my rabbit there. They are held there for three days in our hottest time of the year. If you take an animal there you need to plan on being there ALL day, every day to care for them. And don't even get me started on the idiots that think they should try and touch your rabbit or worse, try and feed it something they shouldn't have.

Bit late...lol. But at the county fair, our rabbits are held there for 7 days. We have to drive 40 minutes round trip to care for them EVERY DAY before 9 AM. I, personally, have had things stolen like a 2 hole rabbit carrier and a box full of supplies. The county people didn't care at all. I hate it so much. I like our State Fair much better, but it doesn't do turkeys.

 

[skysthelimit]

Rabbit ears are pretty thin. The clamp goes all the way through to the other side and the pen touches skin, I've poked myself through an ear and tatted my finger with it. I open the ear and keep it that way with my finger under it. The oldest pen tatt is a little more than a year, clamp is two. But with the average turn around of 2 years here, the tatt will last longer than the rabbits for the most part

I do all kinds of things to my buns, they are fairly indifferent. I cut a quick the other day, and the bun didn't even twitch.

 

[Random Rabbit]

FWIW... i've use the pen and at the time it "seemed" even when i barely touched the ear... over a year later... the tattoo is still there and Very readable.

when we bought the Kbattas pen... they people told us that Rabbits have very few Nerves in the middle of the ear... most are near the edges. That seems to be a truism... as most of the rabbits do not jump until i get close to the edge. They seem to struggle More when restrained than when loosely held. ymmv of course

 

[PSFAngoras]

All of my rabbits twitch, and I put the tat so far into the middle of their ear that it is hard to see. (I kind of think the big clamp style tats are a bit of an eyesore. I like my rabbits tatted, but I don't want to see it unless I unfold the ear and look for it!) I do "dig", but only in the sense of what a human would complain about. I've never had the needle go all the way through!

@ Ramjet:

The newer tat guns for humans are the same way. Our skin is much larger over a much flabbier area, so it moves a lot, and needs pulled taught to get it to stop moving. The rabbits only need held still. The ears are sturdy enough that stretching the skin isn't even possible, let alone needed.