mel wrote:
(snippage)
>I was a bit worried about them as they were
> starting to pluck a bit but theres only the one feather in the cage
> this morning and none tonight.

Quite possibly moulting, not plucking.  Loss of feathers is natural.  With
plucking you'll find bare spots in specific places.  Are you seeing that?
If so, they are stressed about something.

  One of them is quite friendly and the
> other i think will be quite a madam (probably the female
> unfortunately).
>
> I have bought them some treats today and new toys, one of which is a
> swing with a sanded perch to pedicure their feet which they both got
> on before my hand had even left the cage!

Sand perches are not recommended; it irritates their little feet.  Cement
perches are more recommended but you should also have different types of
perches - cholla cactus wood or manzanita wood comes to mind.  They also
chew the perch and it helps with keeping the beak trimmed.  And perches of
different sizes to help them flex their feet.

  I was wondering whether to
> keep them together in the one cage or to aid taming put them in
> seperate cages but in the same room for company and maybe let them out
> seperately, while its still early days.  Any experienced suggestions
> ??
>
As has been mentioned before, two birds will most likely be harder to tame
together.  They will bond with each other rather than with you and will make
the taming more difficult.

> I am also struggling to find a cage cover to fit.  A smaller pet shop
> told me today i'd probably have to make one!  My cage is: 60" long x
> 39" wide x 64" high, if anyone knows of any good pet supply sites?
>
Nice size cage!  Sorry, I can't help with a cage cover.  Maybe you can
combine two together.

> Also a shop assistant told me today to use cat litter instead of the
> sanded paper because it would apparantley work out cheaper.  Any
> opinions ?

Never heard of that.  Your lovebirds probably won't spend a lot of time on
the bottom of the cage so how would cat litter help?  They also don't need
to eat grit like parakeets.  I can also attest, cat litter ain't cheap.

Good luck.

Jill




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