theory on chirping
I wonder if chirping has anything to do with loneliness, or desire for company?
Last night I was awakened at 3:00 a.m. by this amazing, sustained, high-pitch chirping. I crept into the living room and found Job chirping through the bars at Phoebe, Meg, and Smoky, who were all staring at him, frozen like statues. Wow, what a sound.
I picked him up and held him, and for the first time he stretched out in my arms and let me pet him. Usually, he squirms and saunters around, shrugging off pets, which I have attributed to pain from a severe bout of scurvy and mites when he was younger. Now he just sunk into the crook of my arm.
This was his first night in contact with ladies. I had moved him over there just before I went to bed. He hasn't had a lot of contact with other pigs in general; he was in quarantine from various illnesses for about 3 months, and when I tried to get him a roommate, he beat the crap out of him.
He seems sad all the time. So I moved him to a place where he would be surrounded by adjoining cages. Then the chirping in the middle of the night.
I can't wait to hear it again. It was truly freaky. I read all the posts from long ago about chirping but didn't hear any theories beyond that it might be attributed to startling. I don't think this is so; as a matter of fact, he stopped chirping when a sudden movement by another pig startled him.
So I wonder if this chirping was due to stress from the sudden presence of all these new pigs around him, or he just wanted at the ladies that much?
Last night I was awakened at 3:00 a.m. by this amazing, sustained, high-pitch chirping. I crept into the living room and found Job chirping through the bars at Phoebe, Meg, and Smoky, who were all staring at him, frozen like statues. Wow, what a sound.
I picked him up and held him, and for the first time he stretched out in my arms and let me pet him. Usually, he squirms and saunters around, shrugging off pets, which I have attributed to pain from a severe bout of scurvy and mites when he was younger. Now he just sunk into the crook of my arm.
This was his first night in contact with ladies. I had moved him over there just before I went to bed. He hasn't had a lot of contact with other pigs in general; he was in quarantine from various illnesses for about 3 months, and when I tried to get him a roommate, he beat the crap out of him.
He seems sad all the time. So I moved him to a place where he would be surrounded by adjoining cages. Then the chirping in the middle of the night.
I can't wait to hear it again. It was truly freaky. I read all the posts from long ago about chirping but didn't hear any theories beyond that it might be attributed to startling. I don't think this is so; as a matter of fact, he stopped chirping when a sudden movement by another pig startled him.
So I wonder if this chirping was due to stress from the sudden presence of all these new pigs around him, or he just wanted at the ladies that much?
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- Knee Deep
my mom says that one of the sows was chirping the other night, I didn't hear it. Nothing has changed in that room for awhile, except LP is not in there full time with her set of girls. There are two groups in there, so everyone has company in that room! The only one of my pigs I've seen chirp is Raven, it was within the first few days that she moved into the herd. I suspect Faith as my other chirper, which I figure she was who mom heard the other night. I could be wrong though, there are usually 15 pigs in that room, impossible to know who is doing it without them not being shy and doing it while I'm in the room like Raven had done.
- KarasKavies
- For the love of my girls!
OK... Ginger chirps ALL THE TIME!! Day, night, all the time, for no reason.
lb watched my 8 girls at her house for a week two weeks ago. Sure enough, Ginger put on her little "play" for her. Get this, after I brought the girls back home, one of lb's pigs started chirpping!
My honest opinion... some pigs do it, some pigs don't. Some pigs do it oten, some pigs don't. I just think it is a personality thing. I have never been able to identify anything that would CAUSE Ginger do it as often as she does. I think she likes the way she sounds!
lb watched my 8 girls at her house for a week two weeks ago. Sure enough, Ginger put on her little "play" for her. Get this, after I brought the girls back home, one of lb's pigs started chirpping!
My honest opinion... some pigs do it, some pigs don't. Some pigs do it oten, some pigs don't. I just think it is a personality thing. I have never been able to identify anything that would CAUSE Ginger do it as often as she does. I think she likes the way she sounds!
Dutchess was the only pig who chirped like that. She would just, all of a sudden, stand in the middle of the cage and start chirping away, and the other piggies in her cage, as well as the two males, would stand there and watch her chirp away. She was quite a vocal piggie.
RIP Dutchess
RIP Dutchess
Kara's girl is such a chirper! She chirped 4 out of the 5 nights she was at my house. She's very loud at it, too! One of my pigs that was next to Ginger chirped a couple of nights after she left - I guess they were inspired by Ginger's grand performance! It was one of 3 pigs, but as soon as I got upstairs, they stopped.
The only other chirper I've had was Almond, the day she injured her eye. She didn't chirp before and she hasn't done it since. I think it's a cool noise - the time Almond chirped, I thought it was the rat's wheel until I got up to fix it and realized it was coming from a pig.
The only other chirper I've had was Almond, the day she injured her eye. She didn't chirp before and she hasn't done it since. I think it's a cool noise - the time Almond chirped, I thought it was the rat's wheel until I got up to fix it and realized it was coming from a pig.