Ukiah High School offers more than just academics, athletics, and career prep—it offers rabbit tattooing. Yeah, you read that right.
But it’s not about giving bunnies some punk-rock ink. Tattooing rabbits is part of Ukiah High’s agriculture program and plays a vital role in animal identification, especially when it comes to showing and breeding.
Ukiah High raises Californian rabbits, a commercial breed used for competition and sale. These rabbits are shown at American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) shows and county fairs. They’re also bred so that Future Farmers of America (FFA) members can show the offspring and sell them in the auction at the Redwood Empire Fair.
Freshman Ivan Alvarez is one of the program’s student rabbit showmen. “I am going to be showing a meat pen at the Redwood Empire Fair,” he said.
At a glance, rabbits of the same breed look nearly identical, and that’s where tattooing comes in. “Ukiah High School tattoos their rabbits because it’s a form of identification so in a case we mix them up we can identify which rabbit is which,” Ivan explained.
According to Instructions for Tattooing Rabbits by Travis West and Lucinda B. Miller of Ohio State University Extension, tattooing is “the only accepted and appropriate method to identify rabbits used for breeding and showing in the United States.”
So how do rabbits actually react? Ivan described tattooing a Californian buck named Mr. Pickles: “The rabbit reacted how any animal would, he jerked and was skittish as any animal would because it’s a needle piercing their skin.”
The tattoo goes inside the rabbit’s left ear—the standard for identification. “The right ear is reserved for when a rabbit gets registered,” Ivan added.
The tool used is a clamp-style tattoo gun. “Setting up the tattoo clamp was a difficult process at first, but then after I read the instructions more I better understood how to do it.” The clamp has sharp digits that pierce the skin and leave a mark in the shape of numbers or letters. Ink is then rubbed into the punctures, which heals into a permanent ID.
Ivan summed up the experience this way: “My thoughts on tattooing rabbits for the purpose of identification is that even though it hurts, it is better for them and for us so we know who is who and so that we don’t get them mixed up with other peoples rabbits.”
And how did Mr. Pickles do after all that? Pretty great. “Mr. Pickles did really well at the show. He got Best of Breed. This means he was the best Californian rabbit at the show,” Ivan said. “He was basically an all-around perfect rabbit which is also good for breeding.”
From blue ribbons to real-world animal science, rabbit tattooing is just one more way Ukiah High gives students a hands-on education they’ll never forget.
Kenzie Osburn
Kenzie Osburn is a Senior at Ukiah High and a part of the Journalism class. She has lived in Potter Valley her whole life. She is the Potter Valley 4-H President and Ukiah FFA President. She shows livestock all over the country including rabbits and pigs. She likes to ride horses.