[jdcarter]

I'm not the one you're asking, but I'll give you my experience. I haven't had any problem with my parrot on my shoulder; she snuggles up against the back of my neck and is pretty content there. One big warning about shoulder time, however: no earrings! You can imagine how that ends.

As for bird-proofing your house, unfortunately you really can't. Parrots chew through soft woods (e.g. pine trim) quickly. In my case, I only allow my bird free flight in certain parts of the house. I've put clear plastic bumpers--the kind of thing you can put on wall corners--which prevents her from destroying the trim on my door jambs. In other cases, e.g. the trim around my bathroom mirror, I've just given up.

Also, keep in mind that parrots are burrowing creatures, so if you give them other stuff to burrow into (aka chew/destroy), then they won't destroy your house as much. My parrot burrows into cardboard boxes that I give her. Think of it like providing a scratching post for a cat.