Okay, I've gotten through the first three days with my new baby Blue QP. The first issue I had to deal with was no eating for the better part of two days. Wednesday and Thursday she was making lots of chatter and moving about the cage a lot. She would "step up" and come out of the cage and make small talk with me. Late Thursday she started eating like she was making up for lost time (GOOD THING), but at the same time she got quiet and now she's resistant to stepping up and coming out, so I wonder if she's getting territorial and if so, what can I do about it? If I try to get her out she either retreats inside of her food bowl (cute), or she'll hold on to the cage bar with her beak.

HELP!!!

I'd say: be patient and don't force it. Just put yourself in the shoes of your QP and try to feel how you'd feel if a total stranger would grab you and you'd try to hang on to the bars with your bill.

Territorial, after 3 days, is a bit quick. Territorial, imho, is when this is their HOME - in caps - and they want to keep strangers out.

One of mine often wants to makes his own decisions re stepping up, coming out etc, or at least pretend he does and therefore sometimes wants to have a minute to make up his own mind. Forcing that can be a matter of (destroying) trust: will this human respect what I want and don't want - or not? Can she be trusted - or not?

Just my two cents...

Ange