Vetafarm Pet Products

Seems ok to me – You must provide Eclectus Parrots with a Rich and varied Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Diet. But if you want them to have everything then I think Vetafarm… Read more

Paradise Pellets are a great addition. We offer Our Eclectus a rich varied but balance Fresh Food Diet, while also making available to them a bowl of Vetafarm Paradise pellets. Our Eclectus have always had this diet (4 years now) and have never been sick, never had toe tapping or wing flipping. Please add your review here someday. I want to see what other people say about these pellets

Mouldy food – I am purely providing the facts for you to make your own judgement. Earlier this year Vetafarm released a batch of parrot essentials that had a… Read more

higher water level content than normal. After several complaints they found out there were multiple cases of mould found in the bags of food and they had the batch removed from stores. They stated after testing the food in their laboratory the mould that grew was not harmful to birds. They also advised there was no possible way that their food could have grown bacteria as a result of the mould and higher water content because of how it was made.

At the time, and without knowing I fed food from this batch to three seperate aviaries. Over a two week period I lost 13 parrots and had multiple sick. Luckily after being treated with antibiotic the sick birds are now doing well. I had two parrots hospitalised and an autopsy performed on one. The autopsy found the Princess Parrot had good form. It also found worms and a bacterial infection. The cause of death was septicaemia. The vet found it unusual that none of the fledglings from the parents that passed were presenting sick as ordinarily in worm infested aviaries the fledglings would be the first to become ill. At the time I had lengthy conversations with the vet as to what my parrots could have been exposed to so i could try and prevent more deaths. At the time the vet discussed the possibility of the bacteria coming from their food given the amount of sick birds in a short period of time and being across multiple aviaries. When I went to reopen the bag of food as I had only used about 1/3 there was a putrid smell and the food was visibly mouldy. The first Parrot I lost was a hen that had just raised a clutch of babies and had begun laying a second clutch. The vet tested multiple parrots for worms and only found them in some of my parrots. I have been using the same Avian vet for many years and do not have a history of worm infestation. A letter advising of this was provided to Vetafarm after I had heard about the mould issue in their food. They denied they had recalled their food even though they had removed it from all stores selling it.

I spoke to the manager by phone who advised there was no way the food could have contributed to the death of my birds however advised they would pay some of my vet expenses. They wanted to speak to the Vet who had written the letter to persuade them the food was not the issue. As my Vet only works on occasions at this particular vet clinic they have tried calling her several times on days she is not there and not utilised the option of contacting her via email. I advised Vetafarm that it was not satisfactory that they resolve this by reimbursting me only some of my vet expenses which resulted in them retracting their offer. I had always viewed Vetafarm as a reputable provider of quality food. Although they put in place measures so that this situation would not occur again they have failed to take any form of responsibility that their food could have contributed to the death of my birds. They have made their own judgement that all of my aviaries must have been infested with worms even though the evidence from my Vet does not suggest this. They have tried to give me advice on how to care for my Parrots even though my Avian Vetenarian has advised otherwise. My opinion is that there is much evidence linking their food to the death of my birds and my reputable Avian Vet agrees with this. The thirteen birds I lost were three quaker parrots, two budgies and 8 Princess Parrots. It was a very difficult time and I hope no one else ever has to experience this.