• When you have many bunnies (especially when they are the same color) it helps to have an identifying mark to tell them apart.
• Having an easy way to identify a rabbit is helpful when planning and TRACKING YOUR BREEDING. At a glance, you can know which bunnies are related or who is due this month.
• It can help with identifying a lost or stolen bunny.
• Tattoos are required for pedigrees, registering your rabbit, and showing them.(Even if you are not showing if you are raising pedigreed rabbits, having a registered rabbit means it fits within the breed’s standards and is a quality rabbit! That’s a good thing.)

What?

As a standard, people tattoo a series of numbers and/or letters in the rabbit’s left ear (the right ear is reserved for tattooing a registry number if you register your rabbit through ARBA).

Once a rabbit is tattooed, the numbers/letters are permanently assigned to that rabbit and should match the numbers on its pedigree if it has one. Tattoos may be refreshed if they fade, but not changed.

What you tattoo is up to you as the breeder. Your system of numbers and letters should communicate to you the information you want to know at a glance.

• D – The first letter represents my rabbitry’s name. D is for Dandelion Hill.
• M – Mom’s name is Moo (she’s a big bunny and looks a bit like a Holstein). For this system to work, all my does’ names must start with a different letter.
• E – Dad’s name is Einstein (no, he’s not really that smart, I just needed a name that started with E). All the bucks’ names must start with a different letter as well.
• 1 – The first number is the last digit of the year – 2021.
• 7 – The next number is the bunny’s individual number – in this example, 7. No other kit of Moo’s will have that number in 2021. I start with 1 and keep counting. (Some breeders give odd numbers to bucks and even numbers to does.)

If I were to pick up this tattooed bunny, I would know that it comes from my rabbitry, Moo is the mom, Einstein is the dad, and it was born in early 2021 (Moo’s 7th kit of that year).

You can, of course, make your tattoos shorter or longer. Just be reminded that we are talking about tattooing a bunny ear. You only have so much room (especially with the smaller breeds).

How?

The Setup

Find a quiet area where you can stand or sit comfortably to work. You will need a work surface large enough to comfortably handle a rabbit and your tattooing gear (you need a little elbow room so you don’t knock over the ink while you’re working).

Wash your hands and clean any surfaces.

Gather your tools.

• towel
• tattoo ink and small well
• rubbing alcohol
• numbing spray
• balm
• tattoo pen or clamp

towel – While tattooing, you want your rabbit to be fairly still. Wrapping the rabbit in a towel (left ear exposed) will calm the rabbit and help you do your work without too much wiggle.

tattoo ink and small well – Ink comes in small jars. Pour enough ink into the small well to use for that day. Do not return unused ink to the jar. You want to keep your ink clean and uncontaminated. If you need more ink, pour more into the well.

rubbing alcohol – Use a bit of rubbing alcohol to clean the tattoo area. I use a square of paper towel and gently scrub to remove any dirt or wax.

numbing spray – This cuts sensation which means less stress for the bunny and less movement during tattooing.

It’s better to learn on a piece of unsuspecting fruit.

A tattoo pen gives you the freedom to write what you want (no limit to the number of digits), but is impacted by the quality of your handwriting.

The Clamp

A tattoo clamp is a springy set of pliers. You set the number/letter pins into the clamp and with a simple squeeze on your rabbit’s ear, you have a neat and uniform tattoo (place it so you miss the large vein that runs through their ear). Gently rub ink into the holes created (some folks use a small paintbrush) and you’re done.

Do test each tattoo setup on a piece of heavy paper before doing the actual tattoo on your rabbit’s ear. With so many letters and numbers, it’s easy to reverse numbers or mix things up.

The clamp I’ve linked to above has 5/16″ numbers. It’s the smallest I could find and would give you an easier time of tattooing rabbit ears.

Using a clamp limits the number of digits in your tattoo (usually four to six), but the tattoo is uniform and neat.

After Care

Be sure to clean all your equipment with rubbing alcohol after use. Let everything dry well and tuck your tools away ready for next use.

I also like to check in on my rabbits later in the day to make sure everything is healing up nicely. Any extra ink on the ear will wear off in a couple of days.

When?

You can tattoo a rabbit at any age. I have found that little ones tend to have less sensitive ears, so I like to tattoo them at around 7-8 weeks. When tattooing an older bunny, do use a numbing spray and give it time to work.

Paperwork

As an aside, you will want to put the tattoo numbers on any paperwork associated with your rabbits. They are required on pedigrees, but they are helpful on sale slips or in breeding records. I find that a simple log listing all my tattoos is a helpful resource.

In my log, I just do a straight list of tattoos as I do them. I have a doc file on my computer, but you could use a notebook and pen.

I list by litter with their birthdate and dam/sire and add notes as needed. As an example:

BREEDING STOCK (names or abbreviations)

DOES
JellyBean (JBN)
Moo (MOO)
Pip (PIP)
Uno (UNO)

BUCKS
Einstein (ESN)
Sweetie (SWT)

1-17-21 MOO / ESN
DME11
DME12 (doe for breeding trio)
DME13
DME14 (doe for breeding trio)
DME15 (buck sold to Rainey’s Farm)
DME16  

1-25-21  PIP / SWT
DPS11
DPS12
DPS13 (buck for breeding trio)
DPS14
DPS15
DPS16
DPS17
DPS18

Tattooing is a bit of work and requires some organization, but it’s a helpful tool for your rabbitry.