Pig noises guide?

[acapae]

Is there a reference post or helpful website page listing the meanings of the various noises? I've recently switched a few things around and there's being more aural communication than before, so I want to be sure I'm interpreting things right.

I've seen that there's a couple mentioned in the first part of the stickied A-Z of behaviour, but it's very long given its covering everything.

 

[Wiebke]

Is there a reference post or helpful website page listing the meanings of the various noises? I've recently switched a few things around and there's being more aural communication than before, so I want to be sure I'm interpreting things right.

I've seen that there's a couple mentioned in the first part of the stickied A-Z of behaviour, but it's very long given its covering everything.

Hi

The problem with interpreting just the sound is this always happens in a situational context and that some sounds with with very different meanings sound very similar to us.

What gender are yours? Sow and boar dominance does differ in which behaviours they use predominantly for instance although guinea pigs of either gender have the full repertoire.

What you are likely witnessing is some dominance behaviours as your piggies are re-establishing their group in new territory.
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

This is a fairly reliable guide but it may not necessarily contain the specific sounds your piggies are making:
Guinea Pig Sounds
Sadly the quality of online sound guides can vary massively but is in the majority full of mistakes.

 

[acapae]

Hi

The problem with interpreting just the sound is this always happens in a situational context and that some sounds with with very different meanings sound very similar to us.

What gender are yours? Sow and boar dominance does differ in which behaviours they use predominantly for instance although guinea pigs of either gender have the full repertoire.

What you are likely witnessing is some dominance behaviours as your piggies are re-establishing their group in new territory.
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

This is a fairly reliable guide but it may not necessarily contain the specific sounds your piggies are making:
Guinea Pig Sounds
Sadly the quality of online sound guides can vary massively but is in the majority full of mistakes.

Hello, thank you for the very thorough reply and links. I have the uncommon combination of 2 spayed sows and 1 entire boar. Having read the links I would say the noises are a mixture of these explanations:

Purring or quiet/low rumbling whilst doing the above or sometimes without the movement

Chut/Chubble/Mutter This is a hard noise to describe, but hopefully by explaining what my guinea pigs do while making this noise, it will hopefully help you identify this sound. When your guinea pigs are out and about, you'll notice they will be happily walking around on the floor, going about their business and this is when they may make a repeated chut sound. It really sounds as though they are muttering to themselves. It means they are relaxed and contented.

Whining I like to say whining to describe this sound, or you could say moaning/complaining. Its usually heard when a guinea pig is resting and if disturbed by another piggy in the cage, they let their feelings known by moaning at them. It starts off fairly quiet, but will increase in volume if the intruding guinea pig doesn't get the message. My Jasmine likes to complain sometimes. Sweetpea or Jake don't even have to touch her, they could just be tugging at some hay that happens to be close by, Jasmine will then start having a moan. If she's feeling a bit too stroppy she will chin them out of the way or give a little back kick. Its never serious and no fights ever break out, she's just telling them to leave her alone

Plus the chirping noise from this sticky
Chirping

Things are quieter now than when I first posted, but they're still vocalising more in their new pen location with extra space.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello, thank you for the very thorough reply and links. I have the uncommon combination of 2 spayed sows and 1 entire boar. Having read the links I would say the noises are a mixture of these explanations:







Plus the chirping noise from this sticky
Chirping

Things are quieter now than when I first posted, but they're still vocalising more in their new pen location with extra space.

There is really NO difference in the behaviour and social group interaction between spayed or unspayed sows and no difference between neutered and full boars either.

You can find your 'chutting' while on the move in my Behaviour A-Z guide under 'chuntering'.

For sows complaining to a boar please look up the entry under 'whining'. It is the sound a sow makes for an eager boar when they are not ready to mate, and it sounds indeed like whining. Spayed sows still use it when being urged by a boar, neutered or not. They don't come into season anymore; but that is not in any way changing their socially interactive behaviour and instrumentarium of responses.

PS: I currently have 3 spayed sows myself and have had a several more living with others over the years. I can also assure you that spayed sows still dominance rumble-strut and mount if needed and that neutered boars can still get hormone spikes and do mate with sows in season just like full boars; the neutering may just cap it a little but a lot of the testosterone is actually sprayed with the pee all over the place with or without testicles.

The problem with behaviours that like any other sensory perception, they are very individually seen, interpreted and described. That is why it is extremely difficult to create an ultimate guide. I am still learning to understand more nuances all the time - and my own piggy history goes back half a century! Guinea pig interaction and the social structure is A LOT more complex than we ever expected. We have only just started to scratch the surface in terms of research.

Here is the link to my behaviour guide: A - Z of Guinea Pig Behaviours
You may find it worth reading through since it is all in there but you may be using a different word for it. That is the reason why I have added a description of the behaviour to every entry to make as clear as possible what I am talking about. Sound does not happen in isolation. It really has a situational tie and the according body language or action that comes with it.