How to Tattoo with a Clamp Tattooer

I am surprised at all the scuttlebutt concerning clamp style tattoo sets. My set is over 20 years old and still producing excellent tattoos to this day. This is mainly due to the operators, but there are some maintenance things to consider as well. We clamp tattoo everything from Dwarfs to dogs to Brown Swiss calves and have had many comment "hey, we can read your tattoos across the room!" Believe me folks, learning to properly tattoo will bring appreciation from your rabbits as well as from judges. We have tattooed hundreds of ears and made some observations. Again the old adage holds true - if you are going to do something, do it right!!

1. Use TATTOO ink (only use ink intended to tattoo, not India, not a homemade concoction, etc.) Don't put anything in it, it's fine just the way it is. We prefer the sloppy stuff not paste. Also, guys, use black, if you are doing a good job tattooing you will be able to read black even in a black ear. In fact our tattoos can not only be seen but felt.

2. Is your ink over a year old? Has it ever frozen? If either of these apply PITCH IT!! In my opinion, I would rather buy a $3.00 bottle of ink then have to re-tattoo.

3. Look at the pad on the receiving end of your clamp pliers. Is it compacted? We raise Dwarf breeds and don't usually exceed three digits per ear. One day I examined the pad on the pliers and realized that all the needles were constantly landing in the same spot on the pad and it was becoming stiff. The needles weren't sinking in deeply like they should. It got more difficult to press the needles firmly into the pad. The needles would go through the ear for the most part but I like to peel the ear off the needles. If you are peeling, there is no doubt that you have punctured the skin to the full extent of the diameter of the needles. Am I getting this across right? Clear as mud right!? I have replaced our pad twice in the life of my set. Yes, you can replace just the pad.

4. For you registrars out there who use the circle "R" tattoo: Put a couple layers of styrofoam onto the needles. Those needles are so long peeling is a bit of an icky chore. I don't like to peel, but if I do, I know I have done my job right. The rabbit's ear is going to hurt whether you clamp hard or clamp wimpy, so why not do it hard and do it ONCE!! ;)

5. Alrighty then, if all the above criteria are met, and your digits are loaded, you are ready to rock, er - roll, uh - tattoo!!

6. I am NOT a fan of any kind of restraint. Doug and I have tattooed so many rabbits and not only our own, and never broken a back. While our method will be more difficult with larger breeds - it is still possible. I have a small lap and big bunnies tend to leak over my legs - but I can do it!! Just give me a second to get situated. Sit yourself on a five gallon bucket in a grassy spot. Have your pliers - digits loaded, ink, Q-tips, and HERE'S THE SECRET PEOPLE - HEMORRHOID OINTMENT handy.

7. Put rabbit in your lap with it's left side facing your belly. Open rabbit's LEFT ear - do not clean it out with anything! (ditch the alcohol, ditch the Vaseline, ditch the baby oil) That tiny bit of oil isn't going to make a bit of difference in your tattoo. Find a good veinless spot in the ear and firmly zip your thumb across the spot where you are going to place your tattoo. You are pressing the ear between your index finger and thumb that is. Do it pretty firmly - you don't want him upset, but by doing this you are activating nerve receptor sites to stimulation and it helps to deaden the pain - it doesn't eliminate it but makes a big difference. Nerves are stimulated obviously by touch as well as pain so why not get them (nerves) busy before you induce the pain? You want to "zip" and then quickly move onto clamping.

8. Clamp your tattoo. Do it HARD!! It's gonna hurt whether wimpy or hard, so do it right and get the job done!! It is helpful to gently load your digits in the plier so when you tattoo FIRMLY, unclamp the plier and the digits are left in the ear (they have released themselves from the pliers). You did it right (FIRMLY) if you can see the digits needles easily on the back of the ear. Now you can one by one remove the digits from the ear. Once removed from the ear you should be able to easily read the tattoo from the back of the ear - read this as - you did your job right and FIRMLY clamped the ear!!!!!

9. Most rabbits will squirm but I rarely lose one onto the ground - that's why you are on the grass. If you have someone "helping" you hold the rabbit (BIG NO NO) - you are restricting the animals back and that back sometimes needs to absorb a lot of energy/force from the hind legs, so why stop it with someone's hands and break the back? Let the critter jump, he won't go far. I find that I cover the rabbits face with my left hand (I'm a righty) and clamp with my right. My hand over his face is going to let my brain know if that guy moves and I can then take action and move quickly to stop him. Is this clear?

10. Post peel of digits - get your Q-tips (hate the bristle brushes, reminds me of the slave trade, when salt was rubbed into wounds with a bristle brush - terrible) get a bit of ink on the tip and rub into wound with circular motions pressing - all together now - FIRMLY!!! I hold the ear in my hand and rub - if I did the job right and got the ink all the way through, I can read the tattoo on my hand HOLDING the ear! Now get your Preparation-H and put a dab on the end of same Q-tip you used for the ink. Again rub that Q-tip FIRMLY into the ink on the wound. Really work it in and all around. It will make a nice mixture I equate with oil paints. If you look at the back of the ear you should easily be able to read the tattoo from the back. (by the holes as well as the ink)

11. Now I know this is going to kill a bunch of you but LEAVE IT ALONE!! Do NOT rub anything out. It will dry and flake out along with a little help from the rabbit.

12. THIS IS NOT A METHOD FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO TATTOO DAY OF THE SHOW!!! Come on guys - get organized!!

13. The action of the P-H works like this. Rhoids are a swelling and the cream helps reduce the inflammation by pulling the blood away from the tumor or dilation. So - when you apply it to the tattoo wound it is pulling the blood away and the ink IN! In my opinion it works - no doubt about it!

14. As a judge I am picky picky about clean. If you have white rabbits they had better be white. So when it comes to tattooing it's a challenge to say the least. The biggest problem we have experienced is that the ink comes so well through the ear that you can read the tattoo from the backside of the ear. Not a DQ but distracting. (it is the little things that can make all the difference) Be careful when doing whites and mop up any excess. Baby wipes tackle the worst job known to man - tattoo ink ain't no comparison! They work great.

15. DO make sure the ink is out before the show. ALL the ink - *take pride in what you do, these are show animals and they are a reflection of you!!! Ink smears and can smear onto your white!! If you get a smear, you want a day to get rid of it, not just before it is placed on the table. Again, baby wipes are great for this task. You bet if I have two excellent specimens and can't decide, that sloppy ink job will be taken into consideration. On a related subject - read this as, "pet peeve of Molly Covert," - CLEAN UP YOUR ANIMALS! Refer to * above! ;)

16. About bleeding. Hold the wound closed and it will stop in a minute or so. If you don't like getting bloody, use blood stop powder or styptic pencil. If you don't like the chemical in blood stop powder - get bloody. And as I advise my 4-Hers - their ears are a long way from their hearts!!

17. There is no reason a youth breeder shouldn't have dynamite tattoos - and if you present an animal on my table with a drop dead gorgeous tattoo, you will be gushed over!

Article written by Molly Covert