Tell me about your piggy's emotions

[Clay's Pooka]

I am new at the whole piggy-parent thing, and I was wondering: how do I know what my piggy likes and doesn't like? I was holding one of them tonight and he began to make a whirring noise, just for a bit. I listened to the clips on here, but I wanted to hear from you guys how your pets express themselves.

Another thing he does is push his head up under my hand. Its weird- its like a cat. I start at his nose, and as I stroke backwards, he pushes up with his head. Is this pleasure, or something else?

[akstrohm]

When he pushes your hand away, it means that he doesn't like being petted like that.

[RainKindle]

I felt just like you when I started out, and reading about it here didn't satisfy me. I couldn't exactly tell what was what. Now, with a few months of spending time with them, I have a much better idea.
Little miss attitude, Maple, likes to give me a grumpy look when she has to put up with me. I catch her look in tons of photos.
Some of her bad looks are deserved, for example, when she popped out babies, and I took flash pictures of her feeding them when they weren't older than a day. Or when I took several pictures of her for her thanksgiving photo opp. (You can see the best ones in my gallery where she is just chilling and not giving me the dirty look.) She makes the least noise, and tends to be all body language.
Then I have ADD girl, Sugar. If you hold her favorite veggie right under her nose, she will munch, but then soon forget that she is eating her favorite veggie and get distracted and go somewhere else. None of the others have that short of an attention span, especially when it comes to their favorite veggies. She makes this whirring noise when she wants it though. And has the highest pitch when she is hungry, or faking me out for food.
I have smart diabolical Birch. I've handled him since he was a baby, and he runs from being picked up every time. When you walk up to the c&c, you can see him figuring out the way that is the most challenging for me to pick him up. He is smaller than his brother, but is definitely the dominant one. He thinks things out, and knows when to chew on his wooden echoey house, and when not to. He is the one with the best memory. He looked for Maple when I moved her from one area to the now shared cage with Sugar. He looked for Maple in that area for weeks, and even wheeked for her because she was suddenly missing in that corner of the room.
Bonsai, my little chubbers is a good soundmaker for food. Depending on his pitch, intensity, or repitition, I can tell exactly what time of day it is. Even if the mealtime is late, his clock is right on cue to the right time to ask.
Have fun with them, and they will tell you what their noises and actions mean.

[Clay's Pooka]

So its just trial and error, then. Well, I just don't want them to be afraid of me, and I especially don't want to make them feel more afraid. They are really fun to watch, though. What are some unhappy noises, just so I am aware.

[Cherish]

Yep! Very much trial and error, as every pig is different and has a different personality.
One of mine for example, The Doctor, often makes a distressed noise. It's relatively quiet, compared to a wheek for food, but it's very high-pitched and quite quick (sorry if that's a bit vague- it's difficult to explain their noises sometimes!)
When I first got him, I used to pick him up for a cuddle, and the distressed-sounding noise would continue, so I'd put him back in his cage to avoid upsetting him further. But as soon as I put him back, he'd squeal the house down.

Now I know that the distressed noise, when made by The Doctor, usually means; "I've started a fight with another guinea pig, and now I regret it because I'm coming off worse. Rescue me, human!"
The noise continuing while I hold him, is his way of complaining and telling me his troubles; "...and then I head-butt him, and he head-butt me back, and he's got a bigger head than I do!"
And the squeals when I put him back in the cage means; "WAIT! WAIT! What are you doing, human? He's still mad! I need consoling!"

Whereas when The Professor makes the same distressed noise, the last thing he wants in the world is to be picked up and cuddled, he just wants to be left to complain alone.

[sparklykate]

RainKindle is right - it's so bewildering when you first get them, but after a while, you just seem to know, somehow. I've had mine 2 months now and am fairly confident I know what they mean with their noises and the way they act - they've even started banging their bowls together when they think it's dinner time!

As for unhappy noises - I'm sure other people will say this too but the worst thing is if they don't make any noise, and don't move at all - Jerry used to get like that a lot if he heard any noise he didn't recognise because he's a big scaredypig He's calmed a lot now though - one thing they both do is make a noise a little like a pigeon when they're confused, like a "what's that?" noise, which is usually brought on by the doorbell ringing or someone coughing/sneezing!

I know everyone says this, but just give them time - Ben and Jerry are so different now to how they were two months ago - they run to me when they see me, wheek for their dinner, and are so laid back they will happily lay on their sides in their cage and go to sleep (before they didn't seem to sleep so happily, they were practically standing up, on edge, all the time).

Good luck!

[RainKindle]

Originally Posted by sparklykate

As for unhappy noises - I'm sure other people will say this too but the worst thing is if they don't make any noise, and don't move at all - Jerry used to get like that a lot if he heard any noise he didn't recognise because he's a big scaredypig He's calmed a lot now though - one thing they both do is make a noise a little like a pigeon when they're confused, like a "what's that?" noise, which is usually brought on by the doorbell ringing or someone coughing/sneezing!
Good luck!

Oh yeah, she is exactly right.
I've been worrying over my furkids lately because we have roofers. The noises make them abandon their fresh veggies if I feed the veggies after the roofers have started. The guineas are quiet all day.
The each hide in their hideys on the weekdays. Poor babies. It must be stressful. They end up being pretty silent in the evening afterwards. I've been increasing their vitamin c veggies just in case and gave them an extra blankie to cuddle/hide in.
And as far as coughing. It is hilarious! My boyfriend coughs every once in a while just for their reaction. Most of them learned the reaction from Maple, but they will make this instant buzz response after we cough saying that they hate that I coughed, and they hide in their hideys.
After I was coughing for a long time from a fall sickness, Maple became immune to the cough and now just the boys respond. It's funny.
With sneezing, they all just scatter and run for their hideys. Then Sugar comes out with her nervous chitter exploring.

[fieryone]

Their noises can be a bit confusing at first, but you'll get to know what they mean. When you listen to the sound clips the burr noise is listed as both a purr and a rumble. My pig Ethel will burr when you scratch her rump sometimes and at first I thought it was a purr, but have come to learn that it's a rumble and she doesn't like it. Sometimes you can pet her there, sometimes you can't.

For the most part when you're holding your pigs and petting them they will make a noise that I call a chirp. That's a happy noise. My Lucy has a quiet voice and is the quiestest of the three girls but you can still hear her chirping when you pet her. I had to laugh about RainKindle's ADD girl because this is my Lucy. Lola is LOUD! All the time time. She's a big baby and will squeal at her roommates a lot. They gave her a bit of a fright when she was first introduced and she still squeals at them. She also squeals when you pick her up, but then she chirps away loudly and runs up the crook of my neck. She is also my only wheeker. When it's food time she will make a high pitched squeak. That usually means they're yelling at you for their dinner.

It takes some time and their noises and body language will change after some time and they get used to you. You'll learn what they like and don't like. My Ethel is also a head butter. If they push against you they want you to stop what you're doing. You'll probably notice that they do this when you block all or part of their line of vision. I can pet Ethel on the nose and head, but if my hand gets in her line of sight, that's when she pushes up against my hand.

[Scarlettexeyes]

My two guineas are polar opposites of each other.

Scarlette is laided back, but will lap and popcorn like a maniac when shes happy. She also doesn't wheek very loud. Its like a whisper, but for some reason shes trying to wheek SUPER loud lately and it comes out this high pitched, loud squeek. haha.

Shirley is a scaredy pig. She wheeks SO LOUD, and purrs. Shes very high strung, I wish she'd calm down a bit.

Theres the personality of my piggies!

[hueyeats]

Definitely a trail & error when it comes to piggies.

Even when I am a full-time stay home GP parent, I am still learning from my piggies something new everyday, as well as other sources (this site, that site, everyone here, cousin who is a vet & FIL whos family owns a cow farm).

My bubbles nibbles (she has the excuse as a young pig) quite a bit from the start, she has improved so much & have cut back significantly now (she know my scent). While Yam-Yam never nips & my white abby very rarely does (only a couple of times when I am handling food). My FIL is the one to remind me that you never cower from a nip or the nip will go on... most time, I just think of bubble's nips as kisses, besides they really do not hurt (as a real bite will draw blood as sharp as their teeth is). I also will let my piggies smell my hand all the time to let them get used to me.

Piggies do have different personalities.

Bubbles is the "wild" one, the boldest, loudest, most bubbly of my pack. She is also the hardest to catch, the pig that does not like to stay still & the explorer of them all (yes she is the trouble maker). She is also the food hog, loves to eat & you see her always either near the food bowl or in it. She is a natural born leader that one, and I think will easily be top dog when she grows up.

My blue eyed abby is dubbed "diva queen". Coconut Pudding is her initial name (b/c she melts my heart), then tofu, snoopy (as per DH) & the latest mothball (no wonder she only respond to "Hi beautiful"). She is the scaty cat of the bunch & will scatter on cue on everything. She is also our family's "friendly" ghost, you can easily pick her up to pet but just spook easy (so easily spooked that she peed on me 1 time when I first got her). She is more of a follower.

My top dog, Bubble's mom Yam-Yam. She is a sweet potato that one, is a big time lap pig that she will even jump unto your lap during lap time. She is the top dog now as she is the oldest... she is also very steadfast, can be a laid back pig (like don't trouble me if it isn't serious type). She could easily be a "show" pig not so much she is "showable" but on her demeanor that she is so well behaved & will literally be very "still" when you put her a certain way (then you can pet her, groom her, do her nails etc.). Easily the most well mannered pig of the whole bunch (and she never pooped or peed on me once). She is a very dependable pig.

I know all my piggies love me as they always prefer to be with me (in the living room roaming free). They do not bite me & will chase me around (bubbles will, then others follow). They approach me fine, got so comfy they will play & hide under my skirt (I love long skirts). They wheek & order me around (like hey more food slave!). They will mutter & complain & whine in my arms. Most respected is that they actually will hold their pee (not good for piggies to hold their pee long as they do get UTI so every 15-20 mins tops before break recommended), like when I let them go on break after laptime, they will use potty immediately but not on me.

P.S. at the moment now writing this, they are all behind me making "oinking" noises & dashing around my furnitures like a crazy nut, with a "pop-corning" here & there.

Oops, bubbles just went back to his piggy home "sulking" b/c I just caught him trying to go up the bed-room steps with a stern "No!" (yikes that little rascal!).

[hueyeats]

Oops, in my excitement to write down her "sulking" I wrote "his" instead of "her" after the P.S. Excuse my bad english as it is not my first language. Definitely no wee-wee among my packs (except for hubby of course & he did say he wanted to adopt a male snapping turtle to tip the scale).

[urockstar]

Originally Posted by akstrohm

When he pushes your hand away, it means that he doesn't like being petted like that.

I agree but then, how do we really know that to be the case?

[hueyeats]

Maybe the more assertive "push" tells us? If you actually observe GPs group behaviour... the top pig (dominate pig) will always nudge (push) the lesser pig out of its way like when getting to the food dish. That is at least my observation.

Besides, being assertive in the "push" using its head (also called the "Big Head" by someone) is quite a universal language of "no, I don't like it".

Now if the piggy likes it... I am sure he/she will lay all supine & let you do what ever you wanted to it.... like my lap pig Yam-Yam will get on my lap on cue to be petted (that is even without a treat, so petting is like a treat to her)). She behaves like a show pig (like in Dog show) where she'll let me do what ever to her (groom her, pet her or even trim her nails), without the big head.

Bubbles is a "Big head" kinda gal but she will jump into her pet carrier tote in the morning for a walk to get her fav. grass when I go out to collect (note: I do not harness my pig and she feels secure & stays in there just fine). Also at this point, i do not remove her from the tote yet, just let her stay in & eat the grass as I collect on the way... when we get home, I just let her jump out on her own (so no stress at all & thats why when she sees the carrier tote, she "knows").

Most important thing is to listen to your pig & let them speak to you their way... if you fight what they try to tell you... then you defeats the communication process your pig tries to tell you.

[Clay's Pooka]

Well, I have been trying to handle them since I got them, and last night was interesting. I was holding Frank first, and he did some new things. First, he took food from my hand. I figured that he finally felt a little bit relaxed, but then he crawled under the blanket I had on my lap and cuddled in. I don't think he was really hiding, because he wasn't shaking or anything and he was still eating treats that I was giving him. But he sure wanted to be snuggled in the blanket! Is this normal? He was laying on his belly stretched out, not even standing so I figured he was relaxed.

Now, when I held Charlie, he wasn't interested in treats. He did kind of move around a bit in my lap rather than sit frozen, and he did stretch out and seem to relax. Then he did something that kind of scared me. He looked at me and ran up to my face and stuck his nose against my lip/cheek. I thought he was going to bite me, but then thats probably because it startled me. I was wearing a sweatshirt, so maybe he was going for the hood? Any thoughts are welcome.

By the way, the treats I mentioned were sprigs of parsley, not icky treats from the pet shop.

[hueyeats]

That is great improvement from a shy pig.

And I think your pig is trying to "kiss" you (their lick)... you have to trust it to get its trust back so never be afraid that your pig will bite you unless you give it reasons to. My pigs kiss me all the time on my lips... such little darlings!

If your pig stretched out their legs & look relax, then you are doing a very wonderful job opening up to you. If they sleep with eyes closed while you holding them, even better (then they really really trust you)!

I was just surfing the web playing christmas song videos (a change from youtube showing GPs) while having lap time with my piggies & guess what... all my piggies love it! They were sooo relaxed listening to the soft music & they love music!

Learned another thing new from them again!

[Clay's Pooka]

Oh good. I was hoping that they were coming along; I really do want them to like me. I thought later that maybe he was trying to nuzzle me or something, but he was so fast I kind of got startled. I guess we just have to get used to each other, rather than just them getting used to me.

What about the blanket thing? Does anyone else out there have piggies that like to snuggle under blankets? Is this common? I will hold them again tonight, so I guess I will see if he repeats the behavior. Thanks! Its good to know we are getting somewhere.