How to stop a pig from squealing? A pig’s squeal is an expression of how it feels. Thus, knowing what the squeal means is crucial for understanding how to respond to your pet.
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How do you stop a pig from squealing?
As I said, the squeal of a pig is an expression of how it feels. Thus, when a pig squeals, it expresses extreme emotion or feeling.
Most pigs squeal when they feel scared or threatened.
You can observe it to pigs that are getting slaughtered. You can also hear squeals from piglets when they get picked up by their owners.
These animals can also make noises when they’re happy, but it’s not an actual squeal.
For this reason, these animals feel stressed or scared when they squeal.
Thus, if you want to stop a pig from squealing, you need to identify what causes it to feel scared or stressed.
You can stop a pig from squealing by making it comfortable. If it makes the sound when you pick it up, it’s because it doesn’t want to get picked up.
It can also happen that your pet feels threatened by other animals, like other pets they saw for the first time.
Whatever the reason, it’s easy to tell what makes them squeal because they tend to react away from it.
You can observe it to identify what makes them uncomfortable.
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What does it mean when a pig squeals?
A pig’s squeal may be a sign of excitement. However, it can also be a sign of pain or fear.
You can tell when they feel excited when they make low rumbling noises. These noises are continuous and quick.
If they feel threatened, scared, or stressed, they squeal in high-pitched tones. Further, the noises are louder and longer.
A quiet but hot panting is some greeting from these animals. It’s also a sign that they are trying to be friendly.
When they release a harsh coughing noise, it usually means they are getting annoyed. Or these animals are mad about something.
While a pig’s sound may be similar, you can tell what it means by the actions they make along with the sound.
A scared one tries to squeal in loud noises while struggling to keep some distance from the thing it fears.
An excited one makes low rumbling noises while wagging its tail as it approaches.
As always, do your best to differentiate between their gestures and sounds. After some time, you’ll be able to distinguish such with ease.
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How do you tell if a pig is stressed?
A pig makes noticeable gestures when it feels uncomfortable, scared, or threatened. All these circumstances make them feel stressed. Thus, you can tell it by their behavior.
Here are some things you should see from your pet when it feels stressed:
- Breathing with an open mouth
- Vocalization gestures
- Blotchy skin
- Stiffness
- Muscle tremors
- Reluctance to move
These are the usual reactions they do when they get under a lot of stress.
If you see your pet experiencing or making one of these gestures, allow it to rest and try to leave it alone.
You may allow it to walk on its own and let it go wherever it wants. The stress feeling should fade away after a few moments.
You may also do things to make it feel safe and to drive its attention away from what it fears.
A few toys and a feed should work most of the time. Still, your best bet would be to let it move on its own. Doing so would make it feel comfortable and in control.
Do you want to know how many stomachs do pigs have? Read our article.
How do you calm a pig?
Calming a pig depends on the situation it’s currently experiencing.
For instance, a pig squeals and cries hard when it gets picked up for the first time. To calm it, you can put it down and let it walk on its own. It should relax after a few moments.
If a pig feels threatened by strangers, or by other pets, you can soothe it by putting it in a place where it can’t see them.
As a general rule of thumb, take away what makes it stressed.
Afterward, you can comfort it by petting and by giving treats or toys. Such deeds would ease its emotions and will calm it down eventually.
Here are a few things you can do to calm your pet down.
- Pause for a while, and let your pet go where it wants.
- Avoid physical contact with it for a while.
- Maintain a quiet environment as your pig settles.
- Look away to lessen its fear.
- Remove the pig from a crowd if it fears people it saw for the first time.
Does your pig wags its tail? Learn what does it mean here.
Why do pigs squeal when picked up?
Pigs squeal when they get picked up by their owners simply because they feel vulnerable.
These animals are prey by nature. Thus, their instinct is to squeal loud as if calling for help.
In the wild, they are only off the ground when they are in danger. For this reason, they also feel the same way when they get picked up.
This clip shows how even the most comfortable way of picking up still makes these animals squeal
As prey animals, they feel vulnerable when they get lifted from the ground. It’s because they can’t run and they can’t move on their own.
One thing you can do is to train your pet. Try holding it and giving it a treat at the same time.
Of course, you’ll experience a bit more squealing session, but it will fade as soon as your pet gets used to it.
Summary
Pigs can squeal so loud when they feel a lot of pressure and stress. At the same time, they can also do it when they feel scared or threatened.
Of course, the squealing may lessen after some time of getting used to you. All it takes is a little bit of patience and training.
Owning a pet pig is truly a wonderful experience. It would be best if you prepared for its loud squeals.
Resources
Image credits – Photo by Emmanuel Eigege on Unsplash
