So you have a guinea and it's making lots of interesting sounds! But.. what do these all mean?
For those who are more used to the silent (unless they are loudly chewing into your skirting..) company of a bunny having a guinea is totally different! These little guys make use of language to convey their feelings and emotions.
..one of my absolutely gorgeous guests Billy!
So first.. picture the scene, you're sat in the room with your little guinea and you're quietly trying to open a packet of something for you to snack on... Suddenly you hear WHEEK WHEEK WHEEK!!!! This is a lovely excitable sound and often guineas will do it at the slightest hint they are going to get food, ie you brought the shopping home, you opened the fridge or you rustled a packet in their direction!
This sounds exactly how its spelt, a "wheek" and like the scenario above is most commonly used in anticipation for food.
Next we have another sound which is more like a purr. You might hear this sound when your guinea is content and this will sound like a purrrr accompanied by relaxed body language.
If the purrr seems higher at the end it could be a sign of annoyance. It's similar to the other sound but gets higher at the end and the guinea will usually tense up. This means it's something it doesn't like ie being touched in a certain place.
Guineas will make a Rumbling sound when looking for a mate and sometimes females in season will make it too, it's deeper than a purr and usually accompanied by a mating dance or strut.
An agitated guinea will chatter its teeth, keep an eye out as this is usually a sign of agitation or anger. The body language will reflect this and they may bare their teeth. They may also make a hissing sound.
Your little one may make a noise that sounds like drr drr drr .. this can be taken as more of a growl so it may mean they aren't too happy.. speak to them in a calm, gentle voice and this may help.
..another absolutely gorgeous guest Obi!
Hopefully this covers off some language, I will cover body language in a future post (another excuse to post more pictures of beautiful guests!
Emma