Marking kits?

[Nyctra]

Howdyhoo, I've been lurking around here for a bit, and I've finally gotten myself stumped on something...
On the 9th, I had bought a Californian doe with her litter of 10 kits (birth date unknown, but the doe was bred April 3rd, it's her 1st or 2nd litter). They're all fuzzy now and hopping around outside of the nest box. I can't tell who is who now. They all look so alike. Is it safe to mark their ears with a marker, so I know who's who? Mama rabbit wouldn't chew their ears off or something because of it would she? :?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Welcome to RT, Nyctra!

Glad you finally came out in the open! :hiding: Now that you have, surely you realize we want pics of your babies?

I use a Sharpie. When they are really small, the fine tip works great, but do go over the lines several times. If you are lucky it will last about a week. I usually mark them D1, D2, etc. for does, and B1, B2, for bucks. But you could mark one sex in one ear and the other sex in the other ear and just use numbers.

We have talked about using nail polish, but I don't know if anyone has actually tried it yet.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Howdyhoo, I've been lurking around here for a bit, and I've finally gotten myself stumped on something...
On the 9th, I had bought a Californian doe with her litter of 10 kits (birth date unknown, but the doe was bred April 3rd, it's her 1st or 2nd litter). They're all fuzzy now and hopping around outside of the nest box. I can't tell who is who now. They all look so alike. Is it safe to mark their ears with a marker, so I know who's who? Mama rabbit wouldn't chew their ears off or something because of it would she? :?

To calculate their *approximate* age, add 31 days to the date she was bred. That is the likely date they were born....

She won't chew off their ears, and Sharpie works well but you will need to reapply. Why do you need to tell them apart so young? Most people wait till weaning age to do that....You really should not sell them before 8 wks or so. What I do that works for us, is I tattoo their ears at 4wks when I wean them. That way, I can start to track weight gains on each kit.

Oh, and WELCOME! Glad you came out of the Woodwork!

 

[Nyctra]

Ahh, okay then!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

So cute! I like her shelf, and I bet she does too- nice to get away from the kids every once in a while!

 

[Nyctra]

haha yeah! The little ones chase her around like a pack of wolves! XD

 

[Secuono]

Sharpie in the ear no probs, redo once they Start to fade, not a day later, cus it will just vanish as fast as you put it on. But on mine, it lasted 3wks at least.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Sharpie in the ear no probs, redo once they Start to fade, not a day later, cus it will just vanish as fast as you put it on. But on mine, it lasted 3wks at least.

I find if you don't clean ears first, it actually lasts longer. I tried cleaning with alcohol thinking it would help if the ears were clean first, but it actually faded much faster...

 

[AnnClaire]

Also, at that age, I find it easier to mark the outside of the ear

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

so.... how do mark if your rabbits have black ears..? haha

 

[Miss M]

We have talked about using nail polish, but I don't know if anyone has actually tried it yet.

I have used nail polish, and it worked great!

I was trying to track a couple out of several chinchilla-colored babies in the same litter. I started suspecting that they were trading places as far as who was larger, so I marked the smaller ones on the top of the head. It worked great!

It might be better to mark a leg with the paint, though, because I noticed their mom kept trying to lick the polish off. She never succeeded, but it might worry her less if it's somewhere less accessible. The polish naturally fell out after a while as the fur recycled itself, but you could just reapply when you notice it starting to thin.

 

[AnnClaire]

so.... how do mark if your rabbits have black ears..? haha

With the BIG sharpie ... even with the black fur of the himis, I can still see through that to the skin which is still pink :lol:

Of course, I have only had onlies that are black in litters of himis and REWs, so I don't have to mark them They stick out like a sore thumb already :goodjob: