Vitakraft

Both the prepacked and pre-pack versions of Vitakraft Millet Spray sit in our bird-treats range — dried seed heads on the stalk that a bird works at itself, which gives it something to do as well as something to eat.

It is a small, specific slice of a much bigger Vitakraft catalogue rather than a full range, and we would rather say that plainly than imply we stock more of the brand than we actually do.

Millet spray suits any seed-eating cage bird — budgies, canaries, cockatiels and similar species — as an occasional treat rather than a meal replacement. Most birds take to it readily, and hanging or clipping a spray in the cage gives a bored bird something to work at.

It is not a substitute for a proper daily diet of seed mix or pellets, and offering too much can crowd out the more balanced food a bird should be eating most of the time. Larger parrots and other seed-eating species outside the budgie-canary-cockatiel group are better served by a treat sized and formulated for them specifically, so check the pack before assuming millet spray suits every bird in the house.

Keep any unused spray in its packaging, somewhere cool and dry, rather than left loose in a cage where damp bedding can make it go mouldy faster than it would in a sealed bag. A spray that smells musty or looks discoloured is past its best and worth throwing out rather than risking it.

Clip or hang the spray somewhere a bird can reach comfortably without needing to fly awkwardly for it, and remove the bare stalk once it has been stripped rather than leaving it in the cage to gather droppings. A resealable bag or an airtight container does the job well if the original packaging has already been opened and folded shut a few too many times.