Neil - Owner, Paradise Pets Swindon 
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has sold budgies at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of conversations with people who want to buy a bird, and over 35 years of gradually understanding that most of those conversations needed to begin with the same question. This article is about that question, … Read more
Updated 24 September 2026: Corrected the RSPCA cage-dimension attribution and added a practical setup assessment. Assess a budgie’s home by the usable space, the daily opportunity to fly, and whether its companions can share that environment safely. A label saying ‘budgie cage’ does not answer all three questions. This guide explains how to use the … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has kept and sold cockatiels at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of experience with one of the UK’s most popular companion birds. Following the record-breaking June 2026 heatwave — which saw temperatures reach 38°C and produced more bird heat stress emergencies than any event … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has kept, bred, and sold cage and aviary birds at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of first-hand experience with budgerigars, cockatiels, canaries, finches, and dozens of other species. The question of whether to buy a bird from a pet shop or take one free … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has kept, bred, and sold pet birds at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of welcoming UK new bird owners through the shop door for the first time, and watching what happens in the crucial first week of their pet bird ownership. UK pet bird … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has kept, bred, and sold budgies at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of watching these birds in homes across Swindon and beyond, and gradually understanding that the most important thing he could teach any budgie owner was not how to feed or tame the … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has kept, bred, and sold cage and aviary birds at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of first-hand experience with budgerigars, cockatiels, canaries, finches, and dozens of other species. He has also been advising customers on garden bird feeding for the same 35 years. The … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has kept, bred, and sold cage and aviary birds at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of first-hand experience with budgerigars, cockatiels, canaries, finches, and dozens of other species. Every summer, without fail, birds die in UK homes from heat that their owners did not … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has kept, bred, and sold cage birds at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of first-hand experience with budgies, cockatiels, canaries, and aviary birds. The APHA’s bird flu prevention guidance was restructured and reissued in June 2026 following the lifting of the Avian Influenza Prevention … Read more
From the counter at Paradise Pets Neil has been keeping, breeding, and selling cage and aviary birds at Paradise Pets Swindon since 1988 — over 35 years of watching the intersection between garden bird welfare and cage bird health more closely than most. The RSPB’s April 2026 guidance — built around the phrase “just one … Read more