Tattoo questions

[WildWolf]

I had some trouble keeping track of my SF litter as they grew up. I got 2 of the 3 bucks mixed up ... so, I want to start tattooing (unless anyone knows of a non-tattoo way to ID their rabbits?).

How old are your rabbits when you tattoo them? I want to be able to distinguish between them once I start weighing them (4ish weeks old). If you can't tattoo a rabbit at 4wks old, is there some other way to distinguish between them when they are that young? Is there a problem with using a Sharpie to mark their ear? (If you do use a Sharpie, how long does the mark last?)

What tattoo pen is the best? I decided I do want a battery powered pen, not a clamp or ballpoint pen. But is there a particular brand or type that you would recommend?

How often do you have to buy replacement needles/ink/other parts for the tattoo pen? What else would I need to have besides a tattoo pen, ink, and needles? (ointment?)

Thanks everyone! :bunnyhop:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Marking the ear with a Sharpie works, but how long it lasts seems to depend on the doe and how often she grooms her kits... you can get anywhere from a couple of days to a week. Some people mark puppies with nail polish.

I personally don't see the need to track them from such an early age. You wont want to keep kits based on growth rate alone, you also need to judge their conformation if you want to improve the meat qualities of your lines. Trust me... I made that mistake myself, and body type suffered.

I have the "Inkinator" which I purchased at a show for $100, but there is a similar pen at less than half the price available here:

http://kbtatts.weebly.com/

I would highly recommend buying human grade ink. I spoke to a tattoo artist and his recommendation was to use Kuro Sumi black outlining ink.

http://www.amazon.com/Kuro-Sumi-outlini ... B00424NC4G

I also bought disposable tattoo cups and topical anesthetic.

My cups were in a lot of 1000 and came with a little cup holder. I just found this lot of 500 with the stand:

http://www.amazon.com/Tattoo-Caps-CUPS- ... l+ink+cups

Anesthetic:

http://www.amazon.com/Derma-Numb-Anesth ... anesthetic

I buy replacement needles when I attend a show. You can tattoo a lot of rabbits before needing to change out the needle.

 

[WildWolf]

Thanks for your reply! I think I will get the KBtatts pen. Those links help a lot. Is the anesthetic really necessary? Also, would you recommend the KBtatts Bunny Balm (or petroleum jelly or some other balm?)?
That is a good point about focusing on weight. However, I want to record the difference between the litters grown on natural food and the litters grown on pellets. I think I will go with the Sharpie for the little kits. What age do you tattoo?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Thanks for your reply!

You're welcome!

I think I will get the KBtatts pen.

If and when I need a new one, I will too.

Those links help a lot. Is the anesthetic really necessary?

Glad they helped.

The anesthetic is optional- I have tattooed with and without. Some rabbits are "twitchier" than others though, and I always do my initial tattoo and then wipe the ink away to check ink penetration. I will often apply a second swab to the tissue before going over it again since there are then breaks in the skin and it is even more effective. You don't need much- I used two squirts into a tattoo cup the other day when doing 10 rabbits, and applied it with a cotton swab.

When you first start using the pen your technique will be poor and the rabbits will likely fight you. The anesthetic will keep them more comfortable as you go through that learning curve. Before I bought the spray I used generic Orajel in the highest concentration I could find.

What I wouldn't consider optional is the little cup rack. Imagine "Barbie" drinking out of a styrofoam coffee cup, and that is about their size.

Also, would you recommend the KBtatts Bunny Balm (or petroleum jelly or some other balm?)?

If you use any type of "balm" make sure it doesn't contain petroleum products because they will leach the color from the tattoo. I think a light swipe of olive oil would be effective, but if you have an extra $5 bucks, I would get their balm. The designer of the products is a tattoo artist (so knows what is effective) and father to a daughter with rabbits. I like to support small businesses so would probably get it if I could afford it at the time.

You might ask them about their ink as well- I bet it is human grade ink rebottled in a smaller size. The bottle of ink on Amazon will last forever, and in fact I have considered bottling it in smaller sizes and selling it at rabbit shows.

What age do you tattoo?

I give at least a partial tattoo when I wean the litters because I always have several going into growout pens sorted by sex on the same day. Usually, anyway. :roll: The litter I tattooed the other day I had only tattooed one as a reference, knowing that any untattooed rabbits belonged to that litter.

My tattoos are long, so I just do three digits initially- Buck's initial, Doe's initial, and rank (by weight! Lol!) in litter. When I decide on keepers/show rabbits I add the month (1-0 for January through October and X for November, Z for December) followed by my rabbitry initials VG. So HF2X3VG was out of Hoodat and Fourteen, 2nd largest of the litter, born in November of 2013, bred by Victory Gardens Rabbits.

For a while I dropped the VG since I felt that was a way that the judges would know whose rabbitry the entries are from, but it is standard practice among breeders, so I have started doing it again. This way when you sell a rabbit, there is a record of the rabbitry it is from. If it is ever resold and the pedigree is lost, you can reissue it to the new owner if you should make contact.

 

[WildWolf]

Thanks! I think that answers all of my questions.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I was speaking to a fellow at the show attended over the weekend, and he told me that there is a 20% Lidocaine spray for wounds available OTC at pharmacies. You might look for that, since it is more than double the concentration of the spray I have.

I am going to see if I can find it, and when I do I will post the name of the product.

 

[skysthelimit]

I've been using hemorrhoid cream, but I also have MercurCclear, which is Lidocaine.

 

[WildWolf]

Thanks, I'll look that up. Today my doe kindled for the second time, and we now have 5 healthy little kits!!! So I need a tattoo pen soon.

-- Wed May 14, 2014 6:32 pm --

Actually, I just estimated the total cost. It's about $66 not including the bunny balm... and since I'm not showing... I think I will just be creative and come up with some alternative. Thanks anyway! <br /><br /> -- Wed May 14, 2014 6:33 pm -- <br /><br /> Does anyone have any ideas for alternatives? I just need a way to ID individuals while they are growing.

 

[RR MiniSatins]

I have another question for those of you who use the pens. Do you use the anesthetic on the ear before anything else? Then they say to stencil, then use the balm but if I put the balm on, the stencil pen marking just smears. Should I just freehand and forget the stencil? Thanks

 

[CDiana]

can you use other ink than just black? I was thinking of using a different color ink for each doe.

 

[Sagebrush]

I believe you can use different ink on your personal marking/tattoo though the official registry tattoo is done in black only.

 

[Prisma]

Any color ink can be used, however dark green/black/blue show up best. Red/orange/pink and other such colors don't stand out as well and tend to fade more rapidly. I tattoo as soon as I can (4 weeks has been the earliest) or whenever I get to it (6.5 months later on a couple does I held back for breeding) when I had regular litters. I have some MR babies, finally, that will be 3 weeks old this week...they are going to have tiny ears so I doubt even at 4 weeks I'll get to tattoo them. I hope by 8 weeks it won't be an issue, there are some that I don't plan on keeping that are going to be able to leave at that point if some one wants them and I want to be sure that the tattoo is healed over well before they go.

 

[skysthelimit]

I don't use any thing when I use the pen, I only use it with the clamp. No stencil either, free hand, but I keep it short.

 

[Imogen Rose]

This is really interesting to read, in England rabbits don't get tattoo's. They get numbered and lettered leg rings, a bit like pigeons.
The British rabbit society registers each rabbit with a ring to an owner, if you sell the rabbit you have to transfer the coded leg ring to the new owners name.
As my new litter have three of the same size and colour, I was going to use nail polish until/ if I ring them

 

[Show Me Rabbits]

How do you tattoo the rabbits with the dark ears? White ink?? Haven't done it yet but will be soon and some of my rabbits have dark skinned ears.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

How do you tattoo the rabbits with the dark ears? White ink??

I use black ink. It shows up just fine.