Dear Parrots magazine,
Contaminated seed
I have had a 2kg bag of African Grey low sunflower seed contaminated with maggots. I have contacted the manufacturer several times now, but they have not bothered to reply. I then bought a second bag of the same make from my local pet shop, and when I checked the unopened bag, I could see slightly sticky strands with seed attached dangling down inside the unopened bag. I took it back to the pet shop and when the owner checked his other bag on the shop floor, that was also infected.
The maggots are pantry moth maggots, so I now have a bird room with moths and am not happy with the brand I had bought. I know birds eat grubs in the wild, but my concern is that the seed might not have been stored or packed correctly at their warehouse. Poor grade seed can be a disaster to birds and I just wanted to warn other bird owners to check their seed.
Debbie - by email