And then on the other side you have people gaming the system, contributing nothing to society other than huge numbers of fatherless children, getting paid to do practically nothing, and have an entitlement chip on their shoulder the size of Greenland.We helped 2 of our S8 tenants get their voucher, we gave them lifts to the HA, we made sure their paperwork was perfect, we did everything to help them.

Sounds to me like you've got a level head on your shoulders.

Should that question be put on my PM's shoulders? 

My daughter rented out a 2/1 that was small with a dinky kitchen, but it had a large detached garage that was the width of 2 cars, and very deep. 

He is looking around at the spot where he was sure he hit the bear and all of a sudden feels tap, tap, tap on his shoulder from behind.

Shoulder shrug.

This puts the responsibility on the tenants shoulders. 

With your father's death, you have a lot on your plate (probate, etc.) and though it's already been a few months, it seems that you are uncertain whether you'd like to be a landlord across the country (and manage a PM once you've shopped around and find one that you like and deem competent) versus selling the property (and taking that emotional burden off your shoulders in a way).

For the bird, I'd say yes, as long as it's caged or on someone's shoulder and under control when it's not in the cage - and put it in writing.  

I would install a quiet fan connected to the light switch, hard wire it with a shouldered connection and inform the tenant that tampering with the fan is a health and safety issue.