Is it unusual for piggies to never wheek?

Claire5012

Claire5012

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Hi there everyone! I have two boars that never wheek. I got my 1st piggy as a single pig as he was a rescue and living on his own at the time. I had him as a lone pig for a few months while i let him adjust to his new home and noticed that he never wheeked. I soon got him a friend who is a little younger and very much 'I'll do what you do'. Do you think maybe he doesn't make any sounds either since the 1st one doesn't? It doesn't worry me, I was just wondering. They're both happy. They popcorn and do all the usual happy pig things. When I'm on the way with food they're both lined up ready for me, so much so that I can hardly get their bowls down on the ground without one of them being where i want to put it, but the only sound I hear when food's on it's way is Frodo's impatient chewing of the bars (this is the only time he bar chews, on my way up the stairs with their breakfast). How unusual is it, if at all, for two guineas to not make this wheeking noise? Thank you for any replies :)
 
I think this is perfectly normal.
Eddi rarely wheeks and Harry never stops!
Ruby is constantly chattering away about something, and Lucy doesn't wheek all the time, but once she starts she could shatter glass!
 
I have had many piggies of my own and fostered many over the years. No 2 piggies are alike. Some are very noisy and others virtually silent. My current trio are very happy, popcorning like mad but seldom wheek loudly. They chatter a bit to each other, and Poppy does a really good whine when anyone comes near her hidey house but they are quiet at mealtimes. The last pair of foster piggies we had were ear piercing in their hollering for food.
 
Claire5012 said:
Hi there everyone! I have two boars that never wheek. I got my 1st piggy as a single pig as he was a rescue and living on his own at the time. I had him as a lone pig for a few months while i let him adjust to his new home and noticed that he never wheeked. I soon got him a friend who is a little younger and very much 'I'll do what you do'. Do you think maybe he doesn't make any sounds either since the 1st one doesn't? It doesn't worry me, I was just wondering. They're both happy. They popcorn and do all the usual happy pig things. When I'm on the way with food they're both lined up ready for me, so much so that I can hardly get their bowls down on the ground without one of them being where i want to put it, but the only sound I hear when food's on it's way is Frodo's impatient chewing of the bars (this is the only time he bar chews, on my way up the stairs with their breakfast). How unusual is it, if at all, for two guineas to not make this wheeking noise? Thank you for any replies :)
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You get the drama queens, the nonstop chatters, the constant cursers and the strong silent types with the piggies just as much as with humans. ;)
 
I’ve got a noisy “wheeker” and a much quieter piggie. Then last week when I was handling the noisy one (admittedly close to vegetable time) - my quiet little pig let out 3 loud wheeks. I got the fright of my life! I got up to check on her due to it being so out of character - but she was standing there as right as rain practically tapping her watch! Obviously when her noisier cage-mate is absent she feels the need to take over in shouting for her dinner :))
 
I wouldn't worry. As others have already said, some will wheel until the house at the end of the street can hear, others will simply twitch their noses. However from my experience I think there's some truth to your younger pig not wheeling as it hasn't heard the other. For the last few years of Honeys life, she never wheeked, almost silent pig, Willow came along, and also no wheek for months, then I bought Lois and Laine home who wheeked like there was no tomorrow, and instantly, Willow joined in with them (even though they were not visible to her). Potentially as Willow wasn't the top pig, and was young, she may now have known when to wheek and when to not, but now even with the loss of Honey, and Lois and Laine being neighbours, she has one of the loudest wheeks I've heard 😂😍
 
Some might not be able to actually physically wheek (or maybe they are in the upper high frequencies like 17khz or up?). One of mine (Susie), when I very first got her, I remember her wheeking once, then she got a respiratory issue. After that cleared, she's never been able to properly wheek. I can hear the wind sound she makes when she gets really excited, like if I'm saying "TREATS" and her body moves while she's trying to, but can only hear wind (hence the thought of being a really high freq. as adult humans are usually in the 10-16khz range depending on loss; children can usually hear up to 20khz). Her other vocalizations are normal, and she has a ver feminine purr if you pet her rump area.

All my others are fairly loud, and if I forget or don't add enough food/hay before going to bed, and they burn through that, 6 hours later the gp alarm clock quartet is pulling me out of a dead sleep. My two boars are usually quiet, but one has a tendency to wheek if he hears me talking to the others, or sometimes someone else a room away gets one of them going. Actually, Scottie was just wheeking up a storm because he heard 2 sows getting whiny over a prime spot in the sow cage.

As already covered, wouldn't worry, unless they are wheezing while breathing, have discharges, etc..
 
Reenie said:
All five of mine wheek loudly at feeding time. Have you played guinea pig noises for them? That might be an interesting experiment to see if your younger boar wheeks back?
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That might be an idea. As long as It's not teasing them :hmm: I would hate to play them some piggy noises and they start thinking "wahey! The girls are on the way!" :lol:
 
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