The Parrot Lady

by Greta Perry

When you hear of someone who is fanatic about animals, you may think they will be a little odd, like a “crazy bird lady.” When you step into Rose’s Parrot Place, however, you realize that this lady takes her birds seriously. Rose Lamarche is an animal lover who, through a series of twists and turns, is in her happy place.

Born in New Orleans and raised in Metairie, Rose is a 42-year-old mother of two grown children and grandmother of five. Rose and her husband, Chuck, lived in Slidell pre-Katrina. After the storm, they grabbed the opportunity to buy a gutted-out house and fulfill their dreams of having their boat parked at their dock and living on the water. When they felt settled, and Rose quit her nine-year career in the car business, she had the urge to do something else with her life.

Rose has always been an animal lover. As a little girl, she and her sister could be seen walking around with snakes around their necks or rats on their shoulders. Their father had a love for animals: snakes, lizards, rats, spiders, cats, dogs, and even an alligator at one point. Rose shared her father’s love of animals and thought nothing about handling and playing with them. When she was 6, her parents divorced. Her mother was not open to having a menagerie of animals in their two-bedroom apartment, but that was the beauty of going to dad’s house. Their mutual love for exotic and domestic pets created a special bond among father and daughters. Rose is now the owner of two beautiful dogs, two cats and her parrots.
Her sister is still fond of rats, owns two hairless babies and is an active member of rat clubs.

Just this year, Rose was skimming through her Bird Talk magazine and saw an ad for a home-based business for hand-raising and selling baby parrots. She picked up the phone and called the owner of The Parrot Place, Vicki Pierce. The organization has almost 400 locations across the United States. Its philosophy sold animal-lover Rose: “Parrots raised in a home for a home.” The meticulously mapped-out business plan enticed Rose. After discussing the opportunity with her husband, Rose bought into the business.

Rose hit the ground running, voraciously reading and learning everything she needed to know about the business and the birds. In a sense, she completed her “nesting” before she ever got a baby bird. She bought state-of-the-art cages, toys, food and didn’t cut corners on anything. She transformed her spare bedroom into a potential baby nursery and her loft into an office space. Working diligently with the support of the Parrot Place’s plan and knowledge base to make sure she was doing everything right, she only took birds when she was completely ready.

In May 2007, she placed her first classified ad in the paper. Potential bird purchasers liked her philosophy that their future pet bird(s) would be hand-raised in a loving home before it came to them. Breeders from all over the country who had already been dealing with The Parrot Place locations were waiting for her orders to come in, and they didn’t have to wait long.

Breeders want their birds to be loved and cared for in the best possible environment before they go to their new families, and Rose’s house fit the bill. Clients call Rose with their order; she gets the baby bird and nurtures it until it is weaned and ready for its new home. She cuddles them, hand-feeds them and gets them used to lots of human contact. Baby parrots require constant attention, and Rose has committed herself to that. Hand-fed babies require up to three hand-feedings a day and constant changing of their tanks. Baby parrots require as much work and nurturing as any newborn animal. Rose tends to the babies on a regular schedule, only allowing herself brief periods away from home. When she leaves the house, she usually takes a baby bird with her after making sure it is safely perched on a parrot car seat.

When the babies are mature enough to fly, Rose lets them have at least one flight (which is beneficial to their psychological development), and then clips the wings herself and moves them to their cages. Then the lucky birds dine on fresh fruit and vegetables that are appealing enough for a person to eat. She takes the birds everywhere with her and handles them and molds their individual personalities before they head to their potential homes.

Rose says, “Parrots make great family pets. They are great companion pets, and are very low maintenance. They live so long (50+ to 80+ years, depending on the species) that I tell all my clients that they need to ‘will’ their birds, as most will outlive their owners.”