This story is about "homemade" toys. Jake is our 8 yr. old Blue and Gold Macaw. One night I woke to the sound of Jake vomiting. I thought something was caught in his throat. He finally quit vomiting, but in the morning, I found that he was lethargic and wouldn't eat or drink. He sat on his perch with his wings dropped. I immediately took him to the vet. Xrays were taken and revealed particles in his intestines. The vet asked me if he had anything changed in his cage recently. The only thing was that I strung some large plastic beads on a coathanger to make a toy the week before this incident. (Jake destroys a rope in a matter of minutes if one is used to make a toy.) The vet said that Jake had zinc poisoning. Apparently, he had eaten the coating off the coathanger which was highly toxic. Jake was given 3 different medications for 10 days. He recuperated nicely and is fine. Now, it's only stainless steel for Jakes toys!!!

Dianna