How long can I leave mash out?

[Kouken]

I've recently started making mash for my parrots. This is my first attempt so I didn't put a lot in it. I've used peas, green beans, and corn. I was going to add carrots and broccoli, but I wasn't sure of those. Anyways, I am wondering how long I can leave the mash in their cage before it will spoil?

 

[SilverSage]

it depends on your climate and what is in the bowl, and how it is prepared. Mine can be out for about 4 ours before it starts to go sour for my outside birds, and most of the day inside. what I did to test was to leave a bowl on my counter and taste it myself every now and then. that way I knew when it was less than fresh. I simply counted the hours between putting the food out and it tasting bad.

 

[RavensGryf]

I leave vegetables in all day. I find they don't 'spoil' so much as get dried out after 8 hours. Mash usually contains cooked grains, and I don't know how long that lasts.

SilverSage is in Hawaii, so I can see she has to watch it with the tropical weather, even then she says it's good most of the day indoors.

 

[Scott]

I leave fruits and vegetables out all day, but definitely not overnight. The "serving" timeframe following slice/dice/chop prep to removal is generally no more than 8 hours. Seems safe in relatively dry SoCal.

FYI, as an "incentive" all seed/pellet material is removed when the fresh stuff is served!

 

[SilverSage]

Yes, being in a warm humid climate has a huge impact on how long the food lasts. Scott has a good point about not leaving seeds etc in when trying to feed fresh. How have your birds reacted so far? You have the right idea focusing on veggies rather than fruit, but I find that when a bird is resisting fresh food adding a bit of fruit can help ease the transition.

I also have found that transitioning from dry seed to sprouts before switching to veggies seems to help for some reason - not sure why. I have yet to have any bird refuse sprouts, even my seed junkie rescue budgies who literally ate only dry millet before coming to live with me. Once sprouts are the main diet I have a lot better (or should I say quicker?) success getting them to try new things. Also, the smaller the pieces of food, the more likely mine have been to try it right away, when mixed with their sprouts. I always mix mine with sprouts, but many do not.