Wow. I kind of feel for you guys with some of the stuff I have going on. No heart problems or anything, just other stuff...... 'nuff said. Bird-man, if I could, I would totally have a foster rooster for you. I think you said that you can't have roos where you are, right?
Sphinx, I know that two of those boys you gave me will likely end up in the pot when they're big enough, but I sure love holding them and watching them. The red one's pretty brave, and I think he's my favorite to play with. My girl chicks aren't as used to being handled by me, so they're still shy, but the boys are fun. I think I'm going to try turning them out into the yard soon here so they can run around. Hopefully without my rooster seeing them, heh.
So, found out something kind of interesting about my leghorn that the coon/skunk/jerk got last week. I'd noticed that she had bumblefoot, and I was getting set to do home surgery and get rid of the infection for her. Well, after she met her demise, I was examining the carcass and lo and behold, she had a nail in her foot! It looked like it had been there for a while. The good folks I got her from told me that she was fond of jumping up on top of her coop and then over the fence, so the best I can figure is that she had the bad fortune to step on something that was loose and no one ever saw it. At least she doesn't have to deal with it any more. (And sorry to bring up a morbid subject!)