Pigs are loud. If you’ve ever stepped into a commercial barn or even a backyard pen at feeding time, you know the absolute wall of sound they can produce. It’s not just a simple "oink." In fact, the word "oink" is basically a human invention that sounds almost nothing like what a pig actually does. They scream. They bark. They huff.
Honestly, pigs are some of the most talkative animals on the planet. Researchers like Dr. Elodie Briefer at the University of Copenhagen have spent years analyzing thousands of acoustic recordings to figure out what these animals are actually saying. It turns out that when you ask what noises do pigs make, you aren't just asking about sounds—you're asking about a sophisticated emotional language that tracks everything from pure joy to absolute terror.
The Grunt: The Swiss Army Knife of Pig Talk
The grunt is the most common sound you’ll hear. It’s their "hello," their "I'm here," and their "is there food?" all rolled into one. Short, low-frequency grunts are usually just a pig going about its business. If you watch a sow with her piglets, she uses a rhythmic grunting—sort of a nursing song—to tell them it’s time to eat. It’s fascinating because the piglets actually synchronize their behavior to the tempo of her grunts.
But not all grunts are the same. A longer grunt might mean a pig is investigating something new, like a fresh pile of straw or a visitor's boot. When the grunt gets shorter and more frequent, the excitement level is rising. Pigs are highly social, so they use these low-level sounds to keep the group together while they’re rooting around in the dirt. It’s constant chatter. Think of it like the background noise at a coffee shop.
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Why Do Pigs Scream So Loudly?
If you’ve ever had to hold a piglet for a veterinary checkup, you know the "ear-splitting" scream. It’s not an exaggeration. A pig’s scream can reach up to 115 decibels. For context, that is louder than a supersonic jet engine taking off. It is a physical assault on your eardrums.
The Physics of the Squeal
High-pitched sounds like squeals and screams are almost always indicators of negative emotions or intense distress. In the study published in Scientific Reports (2022), researchers found that the higher the frequency and the less "tonal" the sound, the more stressed the pig is. When a pig is genuinely terrified, the sound isn't just loud; it's chaotic. The acoustic structure breaks down.
However, pigs also squeal when they are playing. You’ve probably seen "zoomies" in dogs, but pigs do it too. They’ll run, hop, and let out a series of high-pitched, excited squeaks. The difference between a "happy" squeal and a "scared" scream is subtle to us, but to another pig, the meaning is crystal clear. The happy squeals are usually shorter and have more melodic variation.
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More Than Just Oinks: The Bark and the Blow
Most people don't realize pigs bark. It’s a sharp, sudden "woof" sound. Usually, this is an alarm call. If a pig is startled by a sudden movement or a strange dog, it will let out a single, explosive bark to warn the rest of the herd. Everything goes silent for a second after that bark. It’s a command.
Then there’s the "blow" or the "huff." This is a sharp expulsion of air through the snout. It’s often a sign of annoyance or a warning to "back off." If you’re crowding a pig’s personal space, especially an older boar or a protective sow, and you hear that sharp huff-huff-huff, you should probably take a step back. They aren't just making noise; they are setting a boundary.
Decoding the Emotional Complexity of Pig Sounds
We used to think animal noises were just involuntary reactions to stimuli. We were wrong. Pigs actually "encode" their emotions into the sounds they produce.
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- Low-frequency sounds (grunts/barks): Mostly neutral or slightly positive, used for contact and signaling.
- High-frequency sounds (squeals/screams): Usually indicate high arousal, which can be very good (play) or very bad (pain).
A fascinating detail from recent bioacoustic research shows that pigs have individual "voices." Farmers who spend enough time with their animals can often tell which pig is "talking" without even looking. The resonance of the snout, the size of the animal, and even their personality affect the pitch and timbre of the noise. A bossy pig sounds different than a shy one.
The "Song" of the Nursing Sow
One of the most complex sequences of noises pigs make occurs during nursing. It’s not just random noise. It’s a highly coordinated acoustic event. The sow begins with slow, regular grunts. As the milk let-down approachs, the frequency of these grunts increases rapidly. This tells the piglets to stop fighting for a teat and start sucking.
If the sow is stressed or the environment is too loud, she might stop the "song," and the piglets won't get fed. This is a huge deal in animal welfare. Understanding what noises do pigs make in these moments helps farmers identify if their sows are comfortable or if something in the barn environment is causing distress.
What You Should Do Next
If you are raising pigs or just visiting a farm, start paying closer attention to the "tempo" of the noises. You don't need a PhD in bioacoustics to read the room.
- Listen for the "Nursing Song": If you hear a rhythmic, steady grunting from a mother pig, stay back and let her finish. It's a delicate process.
- Watch the body language with the bark: A bark followed by a rigid posture means the pig is scared. Give them space to calm down.
- Check the volume: If the screaming is constant rather than just during a specific event (like mealtime), something is wrong with the herd's environment or health.
- Record and Review: If you're a hobbyist, record your pigs during different activities. You'll start to hear the "vocabulary" once you can play it back and compare the sounds of a pig eating a treat versus a pig being moved to a new pen.
Pigs are incredibly sentient, and their vocalizations are the best window we have into their minds. By learning the difference between a playful squeal and a warning huff, you're not just listening to animals; you're understanding a language.