How old are the chicks? It sounds like you are doing well for them, but I'd include some goodies to keep them occupied and happy. A big, grassy dirt clod; roots, grass, dirt and all is a GREAT thing for them if they don't have daily access to dirt & grass. Make sure the grass is trimmed off short so that they don't ingest long strands, which could get balled up in their crop and cause an impaction. The grassy dirt clod give them green matter, dirt for grit (and later on for dustbathing in), protein in the form of bugs they find in there and last but not least, something to explore, scratch in and climb up on and dive bomb their siblings from when they play. :) Also diced foods like grapes, cooked spaghetti, scrambled eggs, tomatoes, cooked ground beef, etc. Anything healthy for you is healthy for them, and vice versa. No raw eggs or raw meat, no chocolate (can be toxic) or sugary junk foods. Just make sure you dice it up so they cannot choke on it. Chickens also LOVE live mealworms, it's like Crack for chickens. *L* You can get mealworms at most pet stores, they must be kept refrigerated so ask at the counter. Live crickets are good too, and both provide food and entertainment for the chicks and you (watching chickens play 'Chicken Football' with goodies is hilarious). I've got more info on my chicken site, here is the page on chicks but I suggest reading the entire thing: http://jackshenhouse.com/VSChickHensBroodiesChicks.htm Like marlingardener, I've got my own 'call' I use that the chickens know means 'food!'--no kissy noises though, I do the old standard 'Chick-chick-chick'. :) It's a good idea to settle on your own call and use it when you want them to come to you, and chickens will learn really quickly what the call means! They are VERY food motivated. :) Enjoy your chickens! Velvet ~:>

I agree. Go to SBOE (Santa Barbara Orchid Estate) and ask them personally what sort of orchid will be suitable for you area (if you intend to grow your orchid outside). 100 degrees is tolerable (if you provide shade cloth and perhaps a mister). But most orchid available will not tolerate below freezing temps without some sort of protection, i.e a greenhouse. Or you have to bring in the plant inside the house during the winter. When I lived in Chicago, I would grow my orchids in my windowsill during the winter and summer them outside. Temps in the midwest would get very hot and humid, but the orchids like it outside. Better than being cooped up inside and getting cabin fever. As I did. Even in Chicago, I couldn't grow Bletias because our winters would get to negative numbers. Laelia anceps and cymbidiums will tolerate cool temps. Sometimes down to freezing. But if you are talking about 20 degrees for long periods, even anceps or cymbidiums may freeze.

with feeding, it depends on a lot of factors. temps, number of fish, age of fish and quality of your filtration. If you are overstocked and have a small filter, then heavy feeding could create a toxic environment. Feeding a high quality food without a lot of fillers means less waste in the water and better health for the koi. sorry, but that Petsmart Tetra food is crap and should not be used. I like Danichi and Hikari...both use only premium ingredients. even if you have pond quality fish, still feed a quality food. It will mean less maintenance on your pond, and you will get more color and better growth out of your koi. as for how often, again that depends on the temps, number of fish and the size of your filter. assuming you have a big enough filter to handle any bio load produced by the fish, then 3-5 small meals per day is best. Just like humans, one big meal a day is not healthy, it slows the metabolism. smaller meals several times a day increase their metabolism and you will have healthier/happier fish. To determine how much food your bio filter can handle start out feeding slow, and monitor water quality a couple times a day. if no ammonia shows up after a week then increase the amount of food and test again for another week. You can continue to increase the amount of food until you start to see ammonia. Once you see ammonia that means your filter cannot handle the bio load and you need to step it back by at least 25%. Also, water temps plays a huge role in the metabolism. as the water cools their metabolism slows so food needs to be reduced. Never feed below 50*. feed lightly (2-3 times a week) between 51 and 55*. above 60* you can feed once daily. Once you hit the upper 60's and above then you can start the 3-4 feedings a day. But once you hit the mid to upper 80's then unless you have really good aeration you need to step it back. (more then just a waterfall...I'm talkin airstones and diffusers) In warm water the O2 is reduced in the water and the bacteria in your bio filter is completely dependent on that oxygen. So that means the bacteria is less effective and cannot handle as large of a bio load.

There is both an electric and a gas oven in my kitchen. My gas oven is ''old-fashioned'' (I believe someone referred to it as analog, because it has a dial, rather than a digital temperature selection) and the thermostat cycles quite a bit to work at keeping the heat at a particular temperature. It isn't as accurate as the electric, there is no window or light to view what's going on in there, and the gas oven takes longer to bake exactly the same thing as the electric oven. There is no convection with a gas oven, like with an electric, and if you've used a convection oven, you'll know what the advantages are. (I always preheat in convection mode, because it's much faster; I bake my pizza on convection as well as bread.) I know about this because I've tested both my ovens extensively. Yes, Velodoug knows exactly what he's talking about. I have a gas range mainly for the cooktop, and the oven for those times we lose power; typically in the winter during storms. It's my second oven, and a reliable ''back-up''. (No...Just like Doug, I don't turn it on in the summer months either.) My electric oven is better insulated, has a window so I can check progress without opening the door, and because the temperature is digital, it typically ends up where I want it to be. With a gas oven, you regulate a recipe by sight and smell, not by time the recipe states it should be done. If you're hanging out in the kitchen all day, or using your old gas stove to heat the room (like I used to 30 years ago), No Problem. It's Done When It's Done. Your Nose Knows. In the electric oven, my pizza recipe turns out the same every single time, and I know exactly how long to bake it to get consistent results. Not so with the gas oven. That doesn't mean you won't get good product; it simply isn't as accurate and doesn't bake the same way. You tend to get moist heat with gas, and there is a natural convection, but side by side, I'll go with electric every time. I wouldn't spend that kind of money ($7K) on any gas oven (mine is also a Lacanche), over a Gaggenau for what you want to use it for. (I don't have experience with other pizza ovens, so I only know about what I'm using. I thought you were asking for experience, not just opinions.) Typically, I preheat my oven to 550 degrees before putting in a pizza, which is done to a golden brown with perfectly charred cheese and a golden bottom crust in 8 minutes. I use my oven heavily for everything. Good luck to you. I know it's daunting to spend serious money on appliances that don't do what you want them to. I hope your next appliance will give you everything you want from it.