Food Bugs

[LtlWngdAngl]

Last night I went to feed my 'zon....
And I had a little, skinny, black bug crawl up on my hand. I got paranoid and started looking through his food. Sure enough, I found several of those little bugs. I immediately threw all the food away and fed him some of the smaller parrot food until I can get to the store today.
I was talking to another friend of mine who also has a Mealy 'zon, and she said that she read in a bird magazine that those bugs are common and that you're supposed to put the food in the freezer to kill them, and that the dead bugs in the food posed no threat to the bird.
I'm just wondering if any of y'all have heard this before or have any advice on it.
Thanks!

[LtlWngdAngl]

then I guess I won't worry about it so much in the future! :D

[LtlWngdAngl]

Well, I only bought the food last thursday...it wasn't even a week old yet.

[Lynjupiter]

I would sprout a few seeds just to make sure the place did not give you an old mix, or check the bag for an expiration date. I went to get baby bird formula at a Pet Supermarket and found every single can had expired. I got the manager and explained to him that those cans could make a baby bird very ill or even kill it. I asked him to take more care on what they sell.

Stores will and can sell old stock. As long as it spouts it is fine. I make sure I freeze my bird seed when I get it.
Lynda

[Coby's Mom]

I have a question about freezing. Do you freeze it then take it all out or do you leave it frozen and feed daily portions from the freezer?
I had never heard of this problem. I buy seed from a bird store that makes their own "healthy" mixture of various seed, dried plants (maybe herbs) and pellets -- which my budgie doesn't eat yet.

Should you also freeze millet?

[Casa Amazona]

Not to be overly cynical (and I don't make it a habit of feeding my fids bugs, by the way), but don't they eat live bugs in their native habitat? Just a thought.

[Coby's Mom]

Well I for one am not going to worry about freezing my seed mixtures. I agree with a little extra protien and in the wild they certainly would get a bug or two. My cat eats flys and moths all the time.

[LMPego]

Can someone answer the question about keeping the food in the freezer or taking it out? I had moths come out of the last batch of seeds I bought and had to throw it away. I now have 3 new bags of food (I make my own mix) unopened in the fridge, but is that not good enough?

[LtlWngdAngl]

In general, what is proper bird-food-keeping?

[magsbirds]

Hi, In my house I use the seed fast so I pull a 5lb. bag from the frezer,pour it in a storage can with a lid on it. I keep it in the refrigerater
once I pull it from the freezer. I end up using almost the whole 5lbs in the week. It does keep the bugs and moths out. If I run out of freezer room I just kep it stacked in the refrigerater.