Thanks for your reply, Paul! I'll be doing educational work, not rehabilitation, and the bird I'm hoping to receive has been in the center's care for 8 years. Luckily, this has given me the distinct advantage of knowing what she tolerates well and what she doesn't! I have heard that about the long leaf plastic mats, so I'll be sure to steer away from them if at all possible. The perches I'm using primarily use carpet-like materials.

Hood training is one of the things I hope to do! She's not currently hood trained, so I'm hoping to pick up some pointers around here on that topic.