Tattooing Your Show Rabbit

Using the Clamp Method

Most clamp tattoo sets come with a set of letters and a set of numbers. If you have a small breed, try to find a set that will fit more easily into tiny ears.

Have your tattoo ink opened and ready, but sitting in a safe place so you won’t accidentally bump it and spill ink all over yourself and the bunny.

Have some rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs or Q-tips, paper towels, antibiotic ointment or Preparation H, a small flashlight, a piece of white paper, and a towel.

Decide what tattoo you want. Some breeders use a system for identification. We assign a letter to each doe, each buck, and a number to each offspring produced from that pair. So, if we see our tattoo # ZZ4, we know right away that the animal came out of "Zelda", "Zin", and was the fourth offspring of that breeding. Some breeders assign even numbers to does and odd numbers to bucks. Some just tattoo the name of the animal into the ear.

Whatever works for you, be sure that you load it into the clamp the right way so that it shows up correctly in the ear. The easiest way to be sure of this is to clamp a piece of paper before you clamp the bunny, so that you can see exactly what it will look like and make any corrections you may need.

Have the rabbit sitting before you, facing to your left.

My opinion is divided on whether to physically restrain a rabbit or not.  On the one hand I can see the safety in holding the rabbit securely, especially if you’re not very adept at tattooing.  On the other, I once inadvertently broke the back of a small bunny that kicked out while I was holding it tightly for a tattoo, and I never want to repeat that. 

A registrar taught me to tattoo quickly and firmly with the bunny sitting freely on a carpet pad on a table, and that is the way I’ve clamp-tattooed ever since.  They jump a little, but if you are very quick about it then it’s over before they know what happened.  I’ve never had one jump off a table or hurt itself in this way. 

HOWEVER, if you are NOT quick and confident, it could turn ugly… so maybe it would be better to use restraint.  You could have a friend secure the rabbit, wrap it in a towel, or use one of the new tattoo wraps (which are towels with Velcro straps).  There is also a tattooing box that can be purchased from rabbit supply companies and may work well for larger breeds.

Be sure you are tattooing the LEFT ear of the bunny. The right ear is reserved for a registration mark if the rabbit is ever registered.

Use some rubbing alcohol and swabs to clean the inside of the ear. This removes dirt and oils that might affect the quality of the tattoo and sanitizes the area.

Use a flashlight behind the ear and look to find the larger veins. All rabbits have one or two large veins running up the ears, but not all are in the same place. If you can avoid hitting these areas with your tattoo you will avoid a good degree of bleeding.

Choose your spot to tattoo.  Aim for the middle of the ear, give or take.  Stay away from the outer edges, especially if the fur is dark, or the tattoo may be hard to read.

Tattoo

Position your tattoo clamp into the ear, in the area you’ve chosen.

Give the clamp a FIRM and QUICK squeeze and then RELEASE. I’ve read some information that advises holding onto the ear for a few seconds, but I can’t see why. The holes don’t get any bigger once they’ve been made, and holding a clamp on a struggling animal (and they WILL be struggling if you don’t let go) will result in tears and scratches of the ear at the least, and possible serious injury at the worst.

This is no time to be hesitant about the deed. Doing it once, very firmly, is far kinder than doing it the first time gently (needles don’t go in), a second time a little harder (still didn’t all go in), and a third time firmly. Make it count the first time. Practice on grapefruit peels if you need to.

If the ear is bleeding, apply direct pressure for a few moments to stop it before proceeding.

Examine the tattoo and be sure that you have a good impression. You should be able to clearly read the mark you made.

Use a Q-tip dipped in ink to rub into the tattoo. Rub it in firmly.

Now wipe a little antibiotic ointment or Preparation-H over the tattoo and wipe with a cloth or paper towel. (Prep-H helps to shrink tissues and decrease bleeding).

If you accidentally got some ink on the bunny’s fur, you can probably wipe it off with a paper towel soaked in rubbing alcohol or with Baby Wipes. If you let it set, though, it may not come out of the fur.

Set the bunny back in the cage or carrier and give it some hay to nibble to help it calm down. This is somewhat traumatic, especially to very young rabbits, and you should probably keep an eye on them for a day or so to be sure they haven’t stressed out and developed diarrhea or stopped eating. Check the ear over the next few days and be sure that there are no signs of infection such as swelling, redness, bleeding, etc.

Always glance at your rabbits’ tattoos when you get ready to go to a show. If they have faded or become too hard to read, a judge could disqualify them from competition and you will need to touch

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