# Tattoo Ink Question...



## Crossroads Boers (Feb 19, 2011)

I ordered yellow human tattoo ink last week to experiment with on our black eared goats, and got it yesterday. It's really runny, like water. Is there something I could mix it with to make it a little thicker? I feel it won't work as well if it stays as runny as it is, but maybe I'm wrong. Using this yellow tattoo ink is totally experimental for us. We're going to try it on our big black eared doe who we may not show again first and see if it works. The green ink keeps disappearing on her and has never been visible without a strong flashlight. Now we've got 5 black eared kids that need to be tattooed...


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

Wow, I never had any problems with green tatt ink in black eared goats, it was always visible. Maybe I have a different type of ink paste?

Not sure what you can add to make it thicker. Can you call a tattoo artist, maybe they could make a suggestion?

I want to try one of those tattoo pens, I need to order one soon. However, I forgot the name of the thing. I was going to go with the purple ink. Right now most of my goats have pink skin.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Do let us know how it works Victoria, I could not read our black eared boy's tats after about 2 mos. (green)
Darlin's have got to be re-done before he is ever shown again or brought to a sale.


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## Crossroads Boers (Feb 19, 2011)

I think dairy goat ears can be quite a big thinner than some Boer ears... so that may be why you've never had a problem reading your black eared goats' tattoos. :shrug: 

I'll keep you posted on how it works.  Hoping to get it done tomorrow if I can find a way to thicken the ink. 

I don't know any tattoo artists... but might be able to call somebody who is. Good idea.


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## CritterCarnival (Sep 18, 2013)

If the ink is water based, leaving it set open should allow it to evaporate and thicken up. May take a few days to get really thick though.


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## Tapestry (Feb 5, 2015)

Make sure it hasn't settled. If it sat in a warehouse for a really long time, that's a possibility.


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I used the green on my Boers when I had them. Maybe it was a different ink than you have? It was a few years ago that I had them....10 years ago or so. The white is horrible and fades after a couple of months.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Black ears are really tough. Green show up well on my 8 yr olds with brown or red ears.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Friend of mine does tattoo work, if you shave all the wood off a carbon pencil until you just have the carbon, take a razor blade to shave the carbon into a powder and add it to the ink. It will probably make it darker, but it will thicken it. But if it's water-based, let it sit out with a paper towel over it to keep dirt out.

What method of tattooing do you use? Just briefly clamp and release, or? 
I've never had a problem with green tattoos fading on my black eared Alpines or Boers. I can take a picture tomorrow of the tattoos on the black eared Boers if you want, it's been almost 2 years and they are readable without any light, just flip the ear up and it's there. I actually just checked them yesterday when I was doing hoof trims.
When I tattoo I personally don't clean the ears with alcohol or anything. Just brush anything off with my fingers, then I slather ink in the spot I'll be tattooing, and dab the leftover ink on my fingers onto the needles. Position the letters, and clamp down as hard as I can, and hold it there for 30 seconds or so. The longer the better. When you just tap the needles into the ear and quickly release, the fresh holes close up pretty much as soon as the needles are out, and the tattoos that fade might actually be "falling out".
After I release the ear, I pull the ear off the needles, I smear the ink back over and press it into the fresh holes, and for good measure I wipe the excess ink off on the backside of the ear where the needles exited. 
Never had an infection, or a faded tattoo. For the first several months they are very raised tattoos, like brail, and they flatted out as the ears grow.


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## Crossroads Boers (Feb 19, 2011)

We tattoo the same way you just explained Lacie... except we pack backing soda over the ink after rubbing the ink into the holes with a finger. And we also use a wet paper towel to wipe dirt off the ear first. 

It's not our green ink that's the problem guys.... maybe it's this black eared goat we have! Tattoos that we have done on all our red eared goats are still clearly visible years later! 

Using the pencil carbon worries me since I don't want it to darken any....  Good advice though. 

I have no idea if it is water based but I'll look and see.


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Although kinda visible, black ears usually does take a light shown behind the hear to see the tattoo. Here we punch the tattoo, rub the ink into the holes with a soft toothbrush and then cover the ink with the same kinda vaseline tattoo artists use after they are done and before they wrap it. Hold the ink in place and keeps it moist longer. Makes for a better tattoo.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Be sure to shake the bottle well, it may thicken, that is if you haven't already done so.


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## loggyacreslivestock (Mar 5, 2013)

Following to see how this turns out
I have one black eared kid this year, but probably not as black as yours. 
I have two nigi's with all black ears and had a friend tattoo them with her tattoo pen last year. She used white ink. They are still beautiful.


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## Cactus_Acres (Sep 24, 2013)

Paying attention here too. I have one solid black eared buckling, one frosted blond doeling, one frosted blue roan doeling, and three frosted black kids to tattoo (plus a couple of adults that haven't had theirs put on from last year, bad goat momma!).

Just trying to avoid turning any babies into green-monocled critters like what happened last year with a blonde buckling. Let's just say my husband isn't allowed to do tattoos. I put the ink on, but he was the one doing the tattoo, and the ear flopped all over the kid's face.


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## Crossroads Boers (Feb 19, 2011)

Here's a "before" picture. I just tattooed Dazzle's right ear with the yellow ink, so will get an "after" pic in a few days. We have tattooed both of her ears 3 or 4 times already (during 2 show seasons) and she's not even 2 years old yet.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Wow, they aren't even that dark. They should be holding the ink! onder: Maybe for the dark ears tattoo a bit higher up where the skin is a bit lighter?
Did you tattoo with the ink as is, or did it thicken up any?


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## Crossroads Boers (Feb 19, 2011)

Pretty much as is... I left it out with the lid off all morning. Covered with a paper towel. That didn't seem to help any. It is water based.


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## CritterCarnival (Sep 18, 2013)

If it's really thin it'll take a couple days to evaporate enough, it'll help speed up the process if you can put it somewhere warm with good air flow.


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## Crossroads Boers (Feb 19, 2011)

Ok, might try that next time. Thanks Kat.


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Sounds like you are not pushing your tattoo hard enough.


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## Crossroads Boers (Feb 19, 2011)

By posting this thread, all I wanted to find out was if there was a good way to *thicken the yellow tattoo ink*. So thanks to those who have shared advice on how to tattoo a goat's ear, but I am perfectly happy with our tattooing abilities/method.


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## Crossroads Boers (Feb 19, 2011)

Here's a picture of the yellow tattoo from a month or so ago. I went ahead and tattooed all of our black eared kids with yellow ink and I think it is working better than the green. :woohoo:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Looks good.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Wanted to bump this. Was there was any fading with the yellow tats?


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## Crossroads Boers (Feb 19, 2011)

I'm really not sure. I sold all the black eared kids that I used the yellow ink on several months ago. :shrug: Dazzle's yellow tattoo did fade a lot though.  Just from looking at Dazzle's ear I'm not impressed with the yellow. I want to try one of those tattoo pens. People in my area seem to really like them, and you can use white ink with those!


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

I was just talking to Jill about the tattoo pens, that's what she uses and she uses a teal colored ink, she says they're a lot brighter than any paste tattoo. And the pens are pretty cheap ($55) and bottles of one ounce inks are only $6.
I was thinking about buying one and trying the teal ink and a yellow ink. I don't have a problem with my green tattoos, they don't seem to fade on me, but I really hate changing out my letters for each kid. I only ever tattoo when I absolutely have to, I have an almost 9 yr old that I only halfway tattooed because I didn't feel like taking the letters out and finder her sequence :lol:


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Tattooing is a real pain! (with the traditional goat tattoo pliers and pin numbers and letters). I always end up 
with the original goat all green, all the other goats are green, green me and green everything else!


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

I feel like the goats would move to much with the tattoo pen since it would take longer and hurt so they would keep moving.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

RPC said:


> I feel like the goats would move to much with the tattoo pen since it would take longer and hurt so they would keep moving.


 My thoughts too.


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## loggyacreslivestock (Mar 5, 2013)

My friend uses the pen. She originally had rabbits. She loves it. She tattooed my Nigerian dwarf. It looks great. She did my neighbors boers. They look great. The goats did not move as much as I thought they would. I really didn't have to hold them very strongly and they didn't even tell as much as when I use the tattoo pliers. I think as long as you have a good helper and steady hand, it would be fine. She dripped very little ink into a pop bottle lid to dip the pen in so as not to waste any ink.


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## loggyacreslivestock (Mar 5, 2013)

Oh, and I have a two year old red paint doe with yellow ink from a tattoo gun/ plier and they are still perfect.


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## alex43567 (Feb 27, 2011)

Does anyone have recommendations on make/model of tattoo pens? It would be so nice to not have to change out letters/numbers.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Kblatt pen...


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## CritterCarnival (Sep 18, 2013)

goathiker said:


> Kblatt pen...


I am thinking about getting a tattoo pen and remembered this thread from earlier this year. I can't find anything on a Kblatt pen, but found this: http://bunnyrabbit.com/price/tattoo.htm#KBTatt Is this the one you use? If not, could you post a link to the one you do use, please??

Also, if you happen to have a picture of a goat ear that has been tattooed using your pen, that would be awesome.


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## CritterCarnival (Sep 18, 2013)

Bunnyrabbit.com's prices are the same, and they have a kit on sale for $55.00 that has everything, 2 spare needles, ink, bunnybalm, skin pen, cleaning brushes, etc...KBtatt only has the unit with one spare needle for $35.

Just wondering if that is the same one Jill has used.


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## mollyenholm (27 d ago)

Henna tattoo ink is plant-based and is also used for cosmetic purposes like eyebrows, eyes, and lips enhancement. It is also known because of its ability to last on skin longer, considering it’s only applied on the top layer of the skin. Henna tattoo ink is waterproof and can stay on the skin for up to 3 weeks.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

It would have to be a permanent ink for ear tattoos.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Definitely needs to be permanent ink.


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## goatblessings (Jan 6, 2015)

A regular tattoo kit with green ink will last forever if applied correctly. And it’s “ one and done “ pinch on the ears or tail web. Even with dark pigment , ivd found the Ketchum green ink paste to give a quality tattoo.


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