I like little birds. I really do! But I’m afraid of them. I’m not afraid of them per se, but I’m afraid of their delicacy.
I know that sounds weird, but when you have a few rather robust African Greys lounging around your living room, the thought of handling these little pipsqueaks puts the fear of God in me. They’re just so delicate! So fragile. I’m afraid that just one wrong move and I’ll end up hurting them somehow.
I know that I shouldn’t feel that way, but I feel like this enormous “Gulliver-like” creature and I’m so afraid I’ll hurt one. This is silly of me. I’m not bothered by big birds at all. I’ve worked with 30 pound penguins and Andean Condors with an 12-foot wing span at the Cincinnati Zoo.
But it’s the little guys that worry me…
Lisa with Buddy and Skittles
Patricia Sund
Parrot Nation 
April 9, 2011 at 7:48 pm
I totally understand what you are saying here! I have a green cheek conure (our smallest parrot) and a sun conure (our second smallest parrot) and every time it’s nail clipping time, part of me just wants to run away in fear. I am afraid of holding them too tightly, while trying to save my fingers from tiny, pinching, biting blood-drawing nipping. When I am grooming my African grey, however, I feel like I can let my guard down. She doesn’t like baths any more, but I feel that I am better able to comfort her when I’m relaxed, too. When she was learning to fly, she took many hard falls that scared the crap out of me but taught me that she’s not nearly as fragile as she would have me believe.
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