Deaf piggy?

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Ree

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It's only just dawned on me that my nervous little Herminone maybe deaf :(. Shes always been the quietest and most timid of the bunch but after worrying myself sick that she might be depressed I eventually put it down to a personality trait. It only occured to me that there might be something up with her hearing after I kissed her on the nose the other day and she didn't react at ALL. I've done this a million times but I never really thought about it, when I kiss my other 4 the noise of it makes them, well not flinch exactly, but jerk slightly if you know what I mean. And she never reacts to the sound of a rustling bag unlike the rest of the gang who go bonkers!

Does anyone else have any experience with a deaf piggy? Can I do anything to bring her out of her shell?

Heres a picture of her 'cos it's always nice to put a face to a name :)

hermione.jpg


Thanks in advance x
 
If she is deaf the condition is untreatable, however, her nose will compensate for not being able to hear the sound of a plastic bag!
Quiet pigs often do well, whilst their outgoing companions are squabbling over the food they are getting on with eating.
 
I have a piggy who is completely blind and almost totally deaf and he does very well. He does sometimes come late to the fresh food plate if he is really deeply asleep - but he is only a babe and needs his sleep!
Having said that if he turns up "late" I always make sure there is some extra just for him :) Also, while the others are cowering in their beds because of the hoover or the washer spinning blind/deaf Brain is happilly unaffected and spends happy times munching at the brunch bowl undisturbed by his cage pal.
I can't honestly say being blind or deaf seems to affect him much. He is at the b ottom of the pack but I think that it is more to do with him being the smallest rather than "handicapped".
One big plus about having a deaf and blind piggie - they never run away from the human hand! -c
 
She gorgeous!

My PEW sow Gwenivere has impaired hearing, I would say she is probably mostly deaf. I've built up a bit of sign language for her, nothing complex but she understands it!

Often I serve up some veggies or open the door for floor time and she is completely oblivious (she has hayfever/allergy problems as well so doesn't smell the food as well as the others). I stand in the cage or just outside it waving at her until she sees me; it only took a few days for her to realise that it meant she was missing out on something and she comes running out every time I wave at her. And this is not a pig who will come running just because she sees you are there, and she won't come out if I don't wave to her. :)

Like your girl, Gwen is a very timid character. Interestingly since I developed some form of communication with her, she's become increasingly confident and will walk around the open floor and even come up to me during floor time with very few nerves. She wouldn't venture out near me or into the open before.

I determined that she was deaf with a small test - not necessary you understand, but it is nice to know for sure whether the pig can hear or not!

1) Keep the pig away from the others (she mustn't see them), but in the same room so you can monitor her reaction compared to that of every other pig.
2) Set an alarm clock and allow it to go off for a few moments. Every other pig should run for cover, freeze or make some other disgruntled action or noise; if Hermione is deaf she won't react.

You needn't worry your other pigs for long, I found I could switch the alarm clock off fairly quickly once the others had reacted and Gwen had been completely unaware of the noise.

One other way I found out for sure was when I accidentally dropped all their dinner plates. Every pig vanished within a second, aside from Gwen who didn't stop eating!
 
Thanks for the replies!

Mork, Herminone is at the bottom of the pack and the last to come out at veggie time too. I never put 2 and 2 together until now, I thought she just wasn't as greedy as the others!

Laura that sign language thing is an excellent idea, I hadn't thought of that, I'm definitely going to try that today. One of my other piggies - heidi - will run in a circle when I twirl my finger so I'm sure little Herminone will catch on if I wave at her or do some other physical gesture before suppertime. They're clever little things aren't they?!

Thanks :)
x
 
I've been wondering whether my piggy Jess is hearing impaired as she doesn't seem to react to things like all the other piggies - I may try the alarm clock test.

What a gorgeous photo! x)x)x)
 
My PEW sow is also nearly deaf, or at least has reduced hearing to how she used to be. To be honest, it really doesn't seem to be a problem. In many ways it makes her less nervous, as she reacts more to how the other two in the cage are behaving to what she can hear. Sometimes if I want to get her attention, I just need to be aware of it - wave something in front of her nose etc rather than try to get her attention by sound, or freak her out by touching her and making her jump!
 
A question to all those with deaf piggies - do yours still make piggy noises? as my piggy Jess who i think could be a bit deaf - has never made a sound since I had her. She isn't timid at all and acts like the others apart from never uttering a wheek or squeak and not running off like the others do when I do something noisy.
 
Same here Pelicano, Herminone wheeks LOUD when she sees me with a bag!
Sorry if this sounds a bit dim but what does PEW stand for?

And thanks to everyone for the lovely comments about how gorgeous she is, I'll pass it on......... in sign language of course :)
x
 
Brain (my deaf and blind piggie) is very quiet. She never wheeks for attention or food in fact the only time she says anything is when she bleats because she is being picked on :(.
But then I have 2 VERY loud piggies (Mike and Mabel), another (Dolly)that I have only heard wheek once in the few months I have had her, adn my newest one, Dumbledore, who is quite polite even at food time. Mind you he is so much bigger than all the others that just the way he stands and looks at you is loud, lol.
 
Ree - PEW stands for Pink Eyed White. :)

Gwen was, and still is, a fairly quiet pig. She's finding her voice but she's a quiet character anyway - she keeps herself to herself most of the time. She has surprised me a few times lately coming out with a big wheek, but she's not as vocal as many of the others. :))
 
i have a deaf/blind sow called Amy who can shout extremely loud,she knows all the feeding times and is always there when food is being served,at other times i let her know i'm about by banging on the shed side,this usually gets her tumbling out the shed trapdoor,very funny at times,my other piggies love her to bits and are always looking after her.

al.
rspca west suffolk branch.
 
I think my partially deaf one is just like one of those old people who shouts without realising, because she can't hear very well! :))
 
I have a deaf little girl who does not make a sound! When she tries it is pretty funny. It just doesn't sound "right". Its more of a puff of air with a little sound mixed in xx>>> It's precious.

The way I realized my little girl was deaf was #1 NO reaction to the food or hay bag and #2 when she is sleeping I have to go right up to her or shake the cage a bit to wake her while my other gal is busy Squeaking away announcing my entrance into the room.

Your piggie is beautiful <3 Lots of Love! Just give her some extra TLC and she will be fine!
x)
 
LittleHazel said:
I have a deaf little girl who does not make a sound! When she tries it is pretty funny. It just doesn't sound "right". Its more of a puff of air with a little sound mixed in xx>>> It's precious.
Click to expand...

Yes, mine is the same - she's either shouting her head off or makes a sort of raspy sound. I don't know if she sometimes loses her voice or it's just because she can't hear!
 
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