How to tell the babies apart?

[Gloria97]

Hi Everyone,

We currently have 9 babies that are 18 days old. They are becoming very active. We have two that are constantly escaping their pen. We don't have the supplies yet to make a better pen that they can't escape, but should within the next day or two. I may have to keep these two in the hutch in the meantime.

The problem is that I am not even sure if it is the same two escaping each time. Eight out of the nine bunnies are all black and outside from one or two really big ones the rest are all relatively the same size. There are no individual markers on any of them either to be able to tell them apart.

Is there a safe way to mark/tag them? We also would like to do this for when we determine their sex later.

Thank you for any advice/info you have!

 

[helena]

You can try sharpie marks inside their ears, but that doesn't last too long. Beet juice is also a good option since it stains. If you want, you could also cut a section of their fur (not all the fur just a little) so you can tell the difference. Y

 

[majorv]

We used a black sharpie to mark the ears. May have to refresh it until you don’t need it anymore

 

[SableSteel]

I always use black sharpie in the ears. I have to redo it every couple days. Instead of numbers or stuff in the ears because those can be hard to read if they wear off even a bit, I do dots in each ear. So like, for one rabbit I will have "2 dots right ear" or "1 dot left ear, 1 dot right ear" or "no dots" and those become the names I call them by until they get their actual names/numbers. Those are usually pretty legible even if they get mostly worn off (and a lot faster to write, as baby rabbits can be squirmy). Been doing it this way for 10 years

 

[SableSteel]

If you want, you could also cut a section of their fur (not all the fur just a little) so you can tell the difference. Y

The guide dog breeding program used to cut a little section of the fur to tell baby puppies apart. Just an interesting tidbit of knowledge lol I've never tried it on rabbits but that's mostly because I breed show rabbits so I don't want to risk one section of their coat being slightly messed up.

 

[Happy Hollands]

I'm having this same problem too!! I currently have 5 blue-eyed pure white baby bunnies that are practically impossible to tell apart at a glance. I have been doing a black sharpie line on some of the bottom of their hind feet, but that wears off quickly, normally 2-3 days. I can't do it in an obvious place that could have a possibility of being shown in pictures for listing them for sale, it just sparks too many questions!! any help would be much appreciated... thanks!!

a bunch of black bunnies would definitely be harder to tell apart... sorry I'm not helping! I wouldn't keep the babies sperate from their mom and siblings has this can cause unnecessary stress. They still need and rely on mama's milk! Try putting a strip of cardboard across the lower part of the page the rabbit's going through the grids and escaping (dangerous!!). A picture of the setup would be appreciated, I could try to help you more!

 

[Gloria97]

Thank you for the tips. So far the black sharpie isn't working or any color for that matter because they are sooo black!

Luckily we do have a two floor hutch, so the escapees (5 as of now out of the 9) are being kept on the bottom floor. We just took the ramp out to the second floor. Mama bunny is able to jump through the top floor door and hop down below to the babies if need be.

Has anyone used or heard of using some type of non-toxic paint or nail polish to mark maybe their ears? Sorry if that seems like a silly question. We really are so new at this. Thanks!

 

[majorv]

Even on black rabbits you can still see the marks you make on the inside of the ears.

 

[Me and Bun-uccino]

Thank you for the tips. So far the black sharpie isn't working or any color for that matter because they are sooo black!

Luckily we do have a two floor hutch, so the escapees (5 as of now out of the 9) are being kept on the bottom floor. We just took the ramp out to the second floor. Mama bunny is able to jump through the top floor door and hop down below to the babies if need be.

Has anyone used or heard of using some type of non-toxic paint or nail polish to mark maybe their ears? Sorry if that seems like a silly question. We really are so new at this. Thanks!

Yes I've heard of that from a lot of people but most of them use nail polish. I would combine SableSteel's dot method along with the nail polish. It is supposed to last longer than sharpie and most come in bright colors so you can clearly see the nail polish. I haven't used this though so I can't speak from personal experience but I can speak from others experiences.