Be careful with quinoa

[walterbyrd]

I have discovered that quinoa does not last very long in the refrigerator, and although it may smell fine, it may be bad.



Hopefully, most people here already know that. But just in case.

 

[Kiwibird]

Our avian vet says she no longer suggests bird be offered coked foods that have been frozen or refrigerated because of concerns over bacterial growth. Only fresh.

 

[noodles123]

eek- heck-- I am guilty then because Noodles eats oatmeal that I make like very week and I haven't ever had an issue, but maybe I need to stop that?

 

[Kiwibird]

eek- heck-- I am guilty then because Noodles eats oatmeal that I make like very week and I haven't ever had an issue, but maybe I need to stop that?

If it’s something I reheat, I’ll give Kiwi next day leftovers but I won’t give him anything that’s been sitting longer personally. Haven’t made chop since he got his kidney infection. Our vet says she’s seen an uptick in GI infections since chop type concoctions became popular some years ago and now advises against them. I now cook grains, beans or whatever individually (making so its something I can add to my own meal too) and give freshly cut up produce instead. He gets less variety in any given day, but still gets plenty varied foods over time. I’ve become soooo paranoid since he got that infection. It could have killed him had it gone on much longer and he barely showed any symptoms by the time it had already caused permanent kidney damage. And I still have no clue where he contracted it?!

 

[noodles123]

So why did it infect his UT and not his digestive system? I would think bacteria from food would show up on a gram-stain or crop swab etc (but not in a urinary tract/kidneys etc). Did the vet explain what happened with all of that? I always assumed that a bacterial infection from food could result in something like a respiratory infection or GI problems, but urinary confuses me. I am not doubting you--- I am just apparently misunderstanding how this all works!

 

[Kiwibird]

So why did it infect his UT and not his digestive system? I would think bacteria from food would show up on a gram-stain or crop swab etc (but not in a urinary tract). Did the vet explain what happened with all of that? I always assumed that a bacterial infection from food could result in something like a respiratory infection or GI problems, but urinary confuses me.

She wasn’t saying the kidney infection came from chop, just that she generally advises against feeding it (even to perfectly healthy birds) because it might cause bacterial overgrowth and infection of the GI tract and my bird in particular may be especially susceptible to infection now. We had a huge long discussion about diet because Kiwi has to be on a renal friendly diet and this came up as a general topic during that discussion. Im just scared of my sweet boy getting sick again with anything! We never figured out any likely source of the kidney infection and he seriously hid it so well over such a long period of time, I almost convinced myself I was crazy and there couldn’t possibly be anything wrong. I won’t risk not feeding fresh food now that I know freezing/refrigerating can cause bad bacteria to grow that might make a bird sick.

 

[Zettobi]

Oh that's very interesting! Thanks for letting us know, it's time to chuck away the quinoa I've been keeping in the fridge for her, I'll only give it when I cook it fresh from now on.

 

[tfw]

I wonder if adding the grapeseed oil extract helps keep bacteria down to help prolong the life of the food? I just started getting into making chop and freezing... but then last batch I just made it smaller (enough for 2 or 3 days worth of food) and stored in the fridge. I read on one of the sprout instruction pages that the person added the grapeseed oil during the sprouting stages to help keep bacteria at bay.

OH and what about vacuum sealing? I wonder if that will also prolong the life?

 

[Nightguest]

Ok, this is interesting (and concerning to me)
I normally cook a week's worth of grains + veges, then freeze them.
When it's nom time, I take out a day's portion and let it defrost overnight in the fridge and then give it to them in the morning.


Is this something that I should stop? (I've been doing this for about half a year and I've not had any problems so far, but I am concerned after reading this).