Faepirate

I asked my landlord rather gingerly tonight whether I would be allowed a budgie.... at first he wasn't sure because apparently the tenency rules are on government approval and nothing to do with him, but I pointed out that the agreement ACTUALLY reads: "No pets allowed without the permission of the landlord", to which he replied, "Oh! Oh it does! Then that's fine! I don't see any problem with you having a budgie!" So you know what this means in a couple of weeks times......... *SO happy* (I was nervous all day about asking him! Eeek. I was convinced he would say no and I was prepared to move out just for the sake of this little dream of mine. xD Hee hee.) I had a super massive clean-out at the weekend and rearranged all the furniture in my room in order to make space for the budgie cage. When I get the confirmation from the landlord's wife (he needs to check with her) I can order that cage and get started on 'budgie-proofing' my room (anyone got any advice on this...?) and telephone the local breeders. Ooooooooooooh I am SO hyped right now... I don't know what I'll call them yet! I haven't even decided whether to get a both male or both female pair (assuming both are available). Ha ha, thk and Liv, I love your accounts of sneaking your pets through the landlord's nets I'm guessing they say "no pets" mainly for dogs and cats. That's what my landlord guessed anyway (it amuses me very much that he doesn't even know why the rule is there in the first place!). Thanks everyone for the welcomes and suggestions!

Thank you for all your great advice! Thanks for the link to right and wrong cages. This is the cage I want: It is very roomy (87cm x 46cm x 67cm or something like that), and also a reputable animal cage manufacturer here in the UK so no danger of toxicity etc. Seems to have excellent reviews from the budgie owners who bought it. I had a look on eBay but some are sooo cheap there I get a bit suspicious. I'd rather pay a bit more for something I know is made properly and won't be dangerous. I would definitely be getting a same sex pairing if I go for 2 - don't want any risk of breeding, eek, I wouldn't know what to do! :mellow: If space allows I could consider getting them at different times and going the two cages option. Just have to see what the place looks like when I've finished my big junk clean-out... :hap: Thanks again! It's so great that you all love budgies so much. I think they're one of the most underrated pets ever... I remember in primary school each class had a "class budgie" (along with "class hamsters", "class gerbils" etc.), but they can't have been happy, treated more like an chirping ornament than a pet you could interact with. The teachers didn't have a clue how to look after them of course. :greenb:

Hey, thank you, yes that helped a lot. I'd wondered if maybe leaving the radio on might help... The cage I am after is definitely big enough - it's advertised as a cage fit for 2-4 budgies but I'd prefer it to be a little larger than necessary than smaller. Plenty of space in this one for 2 birds to fly! Anyway... when I've got the go ahead from my landlord (being optimistic here! Hey if he says no I'll just find another place to rent... hee hee ) I'll have to call up a few of my local breeders to find out what's available - still not quite sure who I'm going to buy them from but there seem to be plenty of breeders around here so one of them has got to be suitable. Fingers crossed! Oooooh I'm far too excited. Everyone at work is sick of hearing me babble away about budgie this and budgie that! (Laughing out loud). It'll only get worse.

Hellooo. okay, first of all, I apologise if this has been asked to death - I have tried searching but my efforts seemed to result in far too many irrelevant threads to wade through on my slow connection. Hum. SO. I have never before owned a budgie, but lately I've become totally enamoured by these birds and am planning to try to convince my landlord that I should be allowed to keep one (ahaha, yes... I haven't actually asked him yet. He has a "no pets" policy but I don't know how strict this is... still, I'll be heartbroken if he says no - it's lonely here without a little friend to keep me company! I so miss having a companion critter to play with and spoil rotten.) I work full time, 37 hours a week, and thus would only have time to spend with the budgie early in the morning or after 17:30 when I get home. Being a relatively introverted person, I don't like to go out much in the evenings so I'd be spending plenty of time with the budgie after work, but I'm quite worried about it getting lonely or bored in the daytime. Is this an issue, do you think? Would it be cruel for me to bring home a budgie and abandon it from 8:30 til 5:30 every day...? I would hate for it to be lonely and sad. Should I consider getting 2 budgies? What do you think is best for the bird? If I were to get two, would it be better to bring the pair home together or to leave it a couple of months before introducing the second so that the first has a chance to get used to me first? I've read in many accounts that it's more difficult to bond with a budgie when there are 2, though not impossible. I'm just worried about ending up with 2 wild and naughty birds going rogue on me... I am just not quite sure what to expect. I'd feel more comfortable starting with one, but if being out for 8 hours per day is going to be upsetting for it then I'll just have to be brave Any advice on this matter would be very much appreciated! Thank you~ Helen