Hello, I thought I'd make a thread on this website to get a second opinion on something. I'm a new bird owner, so I'm going to try to be as thorough as possible.
So about a week ago I brought a Maximillian Pionus into my home. She was born around early July, and was hand raised by an experience breeder. She was described as being very sweet and laid back, and receptive to people, having never even attempted to bite or do anything of the sort.
Based on this particular section of the forum, you can probably guess where this is going. The first two days she seemed scared in my presence, but I kind of expected that. She was doing a lot of that pionus "wheezing" thing, which I kind of expected as well. She doesn't do that anymore, but now is either coming off as very aggressive or scared, I can't tell which. At first whenever I walked by her cage, she would make noise / show other signs of anxiety. As the next two days passed, she [mostly] stopped doing this. I did mention this to the breeder, who said I should really just try to get her out of the cage (which she REFUSED to do by the way) and sit with her for a bit each day, etc. The first day I tried very carefully trying to see if she would come out, but she generally just showed all the signs of fear (or aggression?) such as attempted biting (well she got me once), cawing, and wing fluttering.
The next day I held out a ladder in her cage, and she climbed onto that, and when I removed it, she immediately jumped to the ground and cornered herself, and I spent probably close to 30 minutes just trying to get her back in the cage. I felt pretty bad about this incident in particular. Even so, since my first attempts to get her out of the cage, she is now even more agitated (mostly shown through noise making) when I as much as look at her.
Now, so here is my question. My initial plan, which I decided upon shortly after seeing her.. condition, was to just leave her be (physically) until she felt okay to come out (which may have taken weeks). The breeder however was saying that you really should get her out of the cage as soon as you can, so she doesn't get too used to her ways. So while I am still in contact with the breeder, I was wondering if anyone else had any opinions in the matter. I've done a ton of research, but I feel like results are sometimes a bit conflicting. Let me know if you have any advice!
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Thank you for reading the above, here's some supplemental (but not necessary) information:
-Since she moved in, the only thing she will eat are the pellets. She used to eat lots of things with the breeder, but everything I try (even those she used to like) she ignores. I've also tried showing her that they were okay to eat, but its made no different thus far.
-Last night and the night before (aka the nights of the two days I tried to get her out of the cage), she stayed up very late (past midnight), and woke up sometime between 8:00 and 9:30 the next day. She looks tired now, and I'm going to keep her cage covered for a bit to try to force a nap, even though I still hear her climbing around. I know a lack of sleep can cause some agitation, but I feel like there's more to this problem.
-Environmentally speaking, it's very relaxing (I would say). She has a big cage against a wall, and a handful of toys. I make sure she has light during the day, and none - to very little at night. Noise level is also very low at all times, but not absent. If I'm home, unless I've gone to bed, I'm in the same room as her. When she is not focused on being mad/afraid of me, she seems very active in her cage (climbing, playing, etc). As soon as I walk by (or even look at her sometimes), she drops what she's doing at me, stares back and sometimes makes noise. I also talk to her a lot in attempt to help her get used to me.
-She has an unrelated vet appointment on friday, so I'll need to get her out somehow.
I guess that's it for now, I gotta go, so hopefully there aren't too many typos or anything haha. Thanks again for reading this far.
So about a week ago I brought a Maximillian Pionus into my home. She was born around early July, and was hand raised by an experience breeder. She was described as being very sweet and laid back, and receptive to people, having never even attempted to bite or do anything of the sort.
Based on this particular section of the forum, you can probably guess where this is going. The first two days she seemed scared in my presence, but I kind of expected that. She was doing a lot of that pionus "wheezing" thing, which I kind of expected as well. She doesn't do that anymore, but now is either coming off as very aggressive or scared, I can't tell which. At first whenever I walked by her cage, she would make noise / show other signs of anxiety. As the next two days passed, she [mostly] stopped doing this. I did mention this to the breeder, who said I should really just try to get her out of the cage (which she REFUSED to do by the way) and sit with her for a bit each day, etc. The first day I tried very carefully trying to see if she would come out, but she generally just showed all the signs of fear (or aggression?) such as attempted biting (well she got me once), cawing, and wing fluttering.
The next day I held out a ladder in her cage, and she climbed onto that, and when I removed it, she immediately jumped to the ground and cornered herself, and I spent probably close to 30 minutes just trying to get her back in the cage. I felt pretty bad about this incident in particular. Even so, since my first attempts to get her out of the cage, she is now even more agitated (mostly shown through noise making) when I as much as look at her.
Now, so here is my question. My initial plan, which I decided upon shortly after seeing her.. condition, was to just leave her be (physically) until she felt okay to come out (which may have taken weeks). The breeder however was saying that you really should get her out of the cage as soon as you can, so she doesn't get too used to her ways. So while I am still in contact with the breeder, I was wondering if anyone else had any opinions in the matter. I've done a ton of research, but I feel like results are sometimes a bit conflicting. Let me know if you have any advice!
--------
Thank you for reading the above, here's some supplemental (but not necessary) information:
-Since she moved in, the only thing she will eat are the pellets. She used to eat lots of things with the breeder, but everything I try (even those she used to like) she ignores. I've also tried showing her that they were okay to eat, but its made no different thus far.
-Last night and the night before (aka the nights of the two days I tried to get her out of the cage), she stayed up very late (past midnight), and woke up sometime between 8:00 and 9:30 the next day. She looks tired now, and I'm going to keep her cage covered for a bit to try to force a nap, even though I still hear her climbing around. I know a lack of sleep can cause some agitation, but I feel like there's more to this problem.
-Environmentally speaking, it's very relaxing (I would say). She has a big cage against a wall, and a handful of toys. I make sure she has light during the day, and none - to very little at night. Noise level is also very low at all times, but not absent. If I'm home, unless I've gone to bed, I'm in the same room as her. When she is not focused on being mad/afraid of me, she seems very active in her cage (climbing, playing, etc). As soon as I walk by (or even look at her sometimes), she drops what she's doing at me, stares back and sometimes makes noise. I also talk to her a lot in attempt to help her get used to me.
-She has an unrelated vet appointment on friday, so I'll need to get her out somehow.
I guess that's it for now, I gotta go, so hopefully there aren't too many typos or anything haha. Thanks again for reading this far.
all my experience of this sort comes from budgies, cockatiels, and Quakers. This is a method that worked for me, but I am glad someone with differing experience also weighed in 
