[Gpdd] BEHAVIOR: Chirping...

[Michelle Melaragno]

Hey Leah,
	Out of my 10 GP's (well, 17 in all including the rescues) I have
5 that chirp and one that's a wanna-be-chirper!  I find it hard to
believe it is a stress or warning signal as I have read.  Most of mine
do it in the wee hours of the morning.  Though I can tend to be a big
grouch when something wakes me from a good sleep, I LOVE to hear them in
the night, and I find myself smiling in my half-sleep!  Usually, one
will sing one night, then someone else will continue the song the next
night!  When I have had the opportunity to observe this, everyone else
stops to listen intently...no one scurries for cover or seems stressed.
Does anyone have any real information about this behavior?  Has anyone
noticed that certain things trigger chirping?
	Also, my sincere condolences to all who have lost a sweet,
loving little friend recently.  It's been some time since my last pet
loss, but it was a triple-threat.  I lost my cat, Tyra, to kidney
disease in May 2001...my dog Max in August...and my horse Doc, the love
of my life, in November.  I think I still have no idea how losing them
has effected me...especially Tyra & Doc.  Every time I read one of these
posts, my heart aches with the pain of knowing what each person is going
through.  Every morning when I get up and the moment I get home from
work, before I do ANYTHING else, I do a piggie "head-count" to make sure
everyone is OK!  I have ticked off many deeply sleeping beauties with a
gentle poke or whistle...I gotta be sure!!!  I've been lucky so far.
Other than a very stubborn case of lumps for Little Bear, most have been
quite healthy.

Michelle & the crew of GP critters (Honey, Mattie, Gretel, Taboo,
Timber, Merlin, Ralph, Domino, Little Bear, Hannah, Modoc, India, Henry
and Tumbleweed & her 3 perfectly precious pop-corning pups!) not to
mention the myriad of other 4-legged friends!