Old Seeds - How Dangerous To Eat ?

I'm worried as Bella found a small cup of seed that I forgot was there. I think they have been out in that cup for a couple of weeks!

They haven't been in a sealed container,
They haven't been in direct sunlight,
They haven't been soiled or moistened in any way...

I'm now feeling super worried and guilty - will they make her ill?

How long can seeds be out without becoming dangerous?

What are the dangers of old seeds?

Please advise...

I wouldn't be concerned at all over few week old seed personally. Obviously not something to intentionally feed, but parrots eat all kinds of stuff in nature we panicky humans would be rushing them to the vet over if they ate in our homes Just keep an eye on her and her droppings, but I'm sure she will be fine.

Thanks for the reassurance, I feel such a doofus for forgetting to throw them out! I'll check her poops for any weirdness...

Seed in non-opened (original packaging) common is good for six to nine months. This assumes that it is packaged at a FDA approved (USA) Human quality packaging facility. NOTE: Even if maintained in the original packaging, there is no assurance that bugs will not appear in the packaging.

IMHO, once purchased, the seed should be Frozen until ready for use. I prefer freezing for at least 30 days prior to first use and keep all non-opened bags in the freezer until needed. We normally break-down the original package into smaller freezer bags that would represent up to four days of use.

Seed in an 'open' container will degrade in its quality quickly, like within 48 hours. That does not mean that it is junk, only that its no-longer has the 'diet' quality it originally had. Your Parrot will have to eat more to get something close to the original value.

Old Seed: The older the seed the more it breaks down and loses it diet value. The greater the likelihood of bug larva forming. At some point if begins to physically breaking down and spoiling. At this point, it becomes dangerous.

With seed that has sat around for a week or more, we just direct what there is to the Yard Animals, which include Wild Birds.


Maximum Value Diet: We are into providing a maximum value diet and therefore play the time lines to the far inside (shorter) than recommended by the manufacturer.

Since the live bugs in the other seed mix - I've been keeping the bulk of seed in the freezer and just taking out a ration that I keep in a sealed container in a cool dry place. Would the refrigerator be better or worse for the current ration?

Thanks for all the info!

I'm glad you can relax, Diva!

Violet_Diva said:

Since the live bugs in the other seed mix - I've been keeping the bulk of seed in the freezer and just taking out a ration that I keep in a sealed container in a cool dry place. Would the refrigerator be better or worse for the current ration?

Thanks for all the info!

Click to expand...

Good point! We refrigerate what we pull out of the freezer. We had been placing it back in the freezer, but that can result in getting the packages mixed up. The refrigerator represents a consistent temperature that other locations cannot provide year around.

We admit to being a bit over the top. OK, a lot! It is what we do for ourselves and when you handle everything the same way, there is never any confusion!

I put the old stuff out for the wild birds.