How to Tattoo
Clamp Method
By Teresa Wooden

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.

Load Your Numbers and Letters
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

"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.

Restrain your rabbit
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.

Prep the Ear
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.

Follow-Up
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 up.