hand rearing mix shelf life...

[spanna]

hi gang

i have some hand rearing mix left over from when i reared "my boys" and was wondering if it is still good? it has been kept in a sealed coffee jar (with the suction type lid) since i got it, so should be fairly well sealed from air, and the expiration date on the original pack says october 2011.

the reason i am wondering is because my gouldians that have nested on the floor hatched 3 babies, and over the last 3 days have lost 2, so want to put the remaining one and the hen in a box and makeshift nest to give it some sort of a chance!! just want to have hand rearing mix on hand in case the hen goes nuts...

thanks in advance
spanna

[jusdeb]

I buy mine in bulk and keep it in the freezer . Take out enough for a few days at a time . Smell it , if it still smells OK whack it in the freezer till you need it.

[jusdeb]

Oh I have actually bough out of date soft food and formula from Prium and Parrot Society with their assurance that if it smells OK then it is fine. ( cheaper of course )

[spanna]

thanks deb, smell good (??? ) to me...

[jusdeb]

Hmmm so long as it doesn't smell OFF..... sheesh you fellas can be hard work at times .

[Myzomela]

If it smells ok it's probably ok BUT the risk is that the vitamin content may have decreased and so what you are feeding may be safe but not optimal.
It's impossible to say what difference this may make- usually it's subtle.
Freezing it after you first open the pack will definitely prolong its shelf life. Whether freezing will help now is questionable.
If you decide to go ahead and use it I would throw it out after raising this bird, unless you have others on the go at the same time.

[spanna]

yeah that was about my plan myzo. it's going well now, the hen showed no interest in sitting on it once moved (which is entirely expected) so i am once again with child lol. day 3 and still guzzling down the food! heck of a lot easier to hand feed than painteds of the same age too... beak is HUGE in comparison!