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Wheeking - learnt behaviour or instinct?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Beaney
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Beaney

OK, so a bit of a strange question.

Angela, my freeads piggy, has been silent since the day she arrived, 3 weeks ago. She seems happy enough, runs for her food, popcorns around etc but just no sounds at all. Even at the vets, during grooming sessions, having her nails done - nothing.

My others are a noisey bunch and make a lot of noise a lot of the time. Today I went out to the shed to give them their tea and in typical fashion, I could hear the wheeking start when they heard the back door open. I can tell my girls wheeks as all are very distinctive so imagine my surprise when I could hear a 'new' sound. I opened the door and Angela was 'sort of' wheeking. It wasn't a full blown wheek and it sounded almost a bit like a hiss but it was definatly her and her whole face looked like she was putting so much effort into it. :)

So it got me wondering. She has been bred in the past by her previous owner but other than that she has always been kept alone and away from other pigs. I always assumed the wheeking was an instinctive behaviour but is it possible, that now she is surrounded by other pigs, she is effectively learning to talk?

I would be interested to hear if anyone knows or anyones opinions. :)
 
its funny you say this because the other day normally quite baby lacey was doing her best to make a noise it was a quite wheek as you said more like a hiss, she was watching the girls in the herd who wheek so loud she must have thought i'd better learn some of that its obvioulsy what I'm ment to be doing , bless her little heart she did put so much effort into what was a tiny noise , hopefully it will grow with her, my 3 boys of 7 weeks all in together just rumble at each other running and playing maybe they need a good teacher,
 
This is interesting.... Padme hasn't made a sound since we got her, not even when I checked over her toes, teeth and ears :p I guess time will tell if exposure to the other rowdy lot will get her wheeking!
 
I'm not sure really and I think its a great question... I've had piggies on their own in the past and they have all been noisey and wheeked so I dont know... - most things I would imagine are just instinctive - like for example when george my cockatiel gets very excited, he 'dances' - stands there and bobs his head up and down like mad... we've never taught him that and he's never been with any other birds to learn it... I dunno... I always just put it down to the fact that there is just sooooo much we dont know about animals.... I bet it sounds sooooo cute though, listening to a piggie trying to wheek for the first time.... awwwww :)

Trace x
 
when george my cockatiel gets very excited, he 'dances' - stands there and bobs his head up and down like mad...

thats funny our meyers parrot Jimmy does that as well but if we do it to him he does it as well sooooo funny you are so right we have a lot to learn about animals, like why do I know what my dog Max is wanting when he does something like bark and look right into my eyes ?
 
I've found as some of my pigs have gotten older they 'lose their voices' somewhat...

Tink hardly ever wheeked in the 3 years I had her but she was happy enough, Maisie lost her wheek as she got older and was very hiss like for several years. Then you have those that wheek the house down for 'all of them' ;D
 
I guess we have to learn, if no-one teaches us we wont talk. Maybe it's the same with pigs? :o Interesting question.
 
My oldest Sue who's about 6 can't wheek. Her little mouth is going but all you hear is the air coming out of her lungs like a whisper!

When the 2 preggers rescue sows came here they didn't make a sound but one day MagPie made a little peep noise when my own lot started up when they heard a bag rustle. As the day progressed her voice almost matured! On the second day she sounded like a donkey on helium because she was making a noise with the in-breath aswell as the out. On the 3rd day she was running to the front of the cage literally shouting! Her friend Pudding was silent. But over the last week her babies Willow & Wisp have really started wheeking at me & Pudding started a couple of days ago. So I think her babies taught her. The day Mouthy MagPie had her babies they were wheeking within a couple of hours.
 
hils78 said:
My oldest Sue who's about 6 can't wheek. Her little mouth is going but all you hear is the air coming out of her lungs like a whisper!

When the 2 preggers rescue sows came here they didn't make a sound but one day MagPie made a little peep noise when my own lot started up when they heard a bag rustle. As the day progressed her voice almost matured! On the second day she sounded like a donkey on helium because she was making a noise with the in-breath aswell as the out. On the 3rd day she was running to the front of the cage literally shouting! Her friend Pudding was silent. But over the last week her babies Willow & Wisp have really started wheeking at me & Pudding started a couple of days ago. So I think her babies taught her. The day Mouthy MagPie had her babies they were wheeking within a couple of hours.
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Awww, thats a wonderfull story. Especially the bit about babies teaching mum. Awww. :)
 
Now Willow & Wisp seem to have stopped feeding from her she's starting to come out of her shell a bit - leaping around like a spring lamb with them. Its very heart warming to see because I bet she never got a chance to play where she came from because of all the boys in with her. I feel even better about taking her out of that horrible place seeing this happen.

I wonder if piggies who came from a nasty situation don't wheek as much because it draws attention to them. In the wild wheeking would attract preditors...just a thought.
 
Sully was our wheeker but Duke doesn't wheek other than he talks when i feed him or clean him out.
I'd love to hear Duke wheek again, but i don't think he can remember how to as he's got nobody to learn from.
Great question tho.
 
I had a rescue pig in and the old owners said that he never spoke but once he had been with me for abit he soon told me when I gave him his veg
 
Nothing - but i'm going to call them today & tell them about the extra toes on the babies which shows a high probability of inbreeding.
 
Merlin is silent but he used to live in a cage with lots of other pigs
 
i think its just like learing talk some of them spueaking will come naurally to them and others it may take time

my meggie dose a lot fo speaking she likes to make her points made - like in the summer when i had my 2 raabbits (who have died) i used to feeds meggie and holly first than the rabbits and meggie use to sit there and watch to see what therewas geting and if it was diffrent to what she has she use to go mad with speaking about i mean she use to start speaking for her tea at 4 o clock when she dont have her tea till 6 as there is allways people going in and out of our house every time the door opened she would speak - but now its the winter she dont squeak for her food that much as she has covers down over the cage as there are outside but when i start putting the covers up again when it gets warmer she will be at it again - but when she comes inside she dosent squeak that much hardly

my holly sometimes she use to squeak with meggie at meal times in the summer but not allways but when i bring her inside she is allways squeaking about something and i ask thats she on about and stuff she allways likes to talk to me when i bring her in

my lilly well she nevers shuts up when i open her cage to feed her she speaks or jsut to even look at her she speaks and when i bring her inside she talks the whole time I'm luckly if she shuts up for 1 min

my molly well i have only hard her spueak 5 times at the ost in the 2/3 months i have had her she is very quite she is just happy to sit there and keeps her self ot her self and when i bring her in al she wonts to do it is to cuddle up to me but than again when she lives with lilly she dont need to squeak when she squeaks for her

but i can can tell if its holly squeaking or if its meggie as there have a diffrent speak
 
Awww :) I have read that wheeking is part of them being wild as to warn off ememies, but also can be good signs. i.e they have found something (food)

It's all part of talking to one another I guess :)

My lot make different sounds depending on things happening.

Tonni doesn't wheek anymore - he moans!

And poor Guinea really struggles to wheek - can here and see the strain! :)
 
Looks like their might be some learning involved then as it seems a few of us have had silent piggys become noisey! - unless it is simply a case that a lone, shall we say, slightly neglected piggy just doesn't need to wheek so doesn't bother.

Angela's voice is literally getting bigger everytime. Just done the tea veggies now and we almost had one proper wheek before it went back to the hissing. It is so adorable to see. Her character is really coming out now - she is a lovely girl :)
 
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