Hi Kathy!
        Thanks for all your help and suggestions.  Well, our mail got delayed 
for several days and then when I downloaded it said it came through, but 
couldn't unzip and to do it all over again - finally got it on the 6th try 
using my husband's computer! Wouldn't you know I had several messages in that 
packet too!  It had been held up for days due to BBS troubles.  Anyway, I 
took a bird friend and we went to the breeders' last Thursday.  I don't know 
what was going on, but the older birds were definitely NOT the same age - 1-2 
mo. difference.  One he'd already clipped the wings on and the younger one he 
hadn't.  It (the younger one) was already trying to talk from hearing the 
cockatoo and parrots in the same building with them, so I wanted that one.  I 
think he wanted to keep that one, for whatever reason, because he tried to 
talk me out of it by saying the other one was smarter and this one acted 
stupid, etc.; it would bite, etc.; and when that failed he wanted to clip the 
wings.  I thanked him, but said I didn't like the wings clipped and if I had 
problems, I'd do it later myself.  I've done it on other birds I've had.  He 
got real insistent and was really upset I wouldn't let him.  The friend with 
me said he'd probably have switched them out.  Any way, I've got it home and 
named it Tiki - after the talking cockatoo it was trying to imitate.  It 
comes right to the edge of the cage and just begs for attention and only 
hollers when it wants me to come over.  If I'm out of the room it doesn't 
holler, but if I walk through or it hears my voice, it will.  I can put my 
hand up to the wire and it'll come over and very gently run it's beak up and 
down my fingers and hand - hasn't offered to bite yet, thank goodness.  It 
gets really scared when I put my hand in the cage, but did keep after it 
tonight until it got on my finger without realizing it and then it mouthed my 
fingers, but no bite!  Took my hand out and did the same from outside the 
cage, so think it will be just fine.  I took the lovebird to a local pet 
store though and traded him in on a peach-capped (?) conure I'd been seeing 
in there and it wanted attention so bad.  Had been a family pet and they 
traded it for a quaker.  He talks a little bit, and is a real character!  He 
will bite hard thou gh if he doesn't want to get off your shoulder.  
Otherwise, he's just fine.  So I went from no conures to TWO in 2 days.  A 
friend brought over a whole stack of books to read, plus the couple I'd 
gotten, so am on my way.  Thanks again for all your help and I'll still be 
reading and trying to learn from the conference!  TTYL....Ruth
... You're the computer, you ME where the file is!  ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12
--- InterEcho 1.17
---------------