We have ordered two batches of chicks from McMurry and had no problems. But there are a few thing I would do differently. First I will never raise them in my basement again. We always order a delivery date of no earlier than May or June. The first Batch we ordered we started them out in a huge metal watering tank. We placed a peice of wire over top (they can and do fly up and out as they get their feathers in)We placed the brooder bulb in one of those automobile light fixtures that have a clamp on the bottom. We just clamped the bulb to the side of the metal tub and angled it down. I would recomend a red bulb so if they start picking at one and they draw blood it wont be so easily seen and there wont be a free for all gang fight on the injured chick. If that doesnt work a small dab of vicks vapor rub on the injured chick ensures that everyone will leave him alone. We found that as the chicks matured the smell was horrible. We got to the point that we were changing the bedding 3 times a day also as they get their feathers in they develope a "dust " that coats their feathers and this will coat everything in your basement and be a big ordeal to clean up. So we just choose not to go thru that again. So when we order and have a delivery date for may or june we only have to keep the chicks in the basement for maybe a week or less depending on the temp and out they go up to the chik proofed hen house. We have three different hen houses with coverd yards and we just rotate the hens thru. We like Rhode Island Red hens, they are very sweet and can be tamed easily. My 4 year old son carries them around all of the time. Now the RIR Roosters are an entirely different story. I hated the one we had he was the meanest rooster we have everhad and we finaly had to "dispose" Of him and he is now fertalizing the garden. This rooster would hide and wait to catch anyone unawares and then he would be on you, spurring the heck out of you. He has got me, my oldest son and even had my youngest on the ground pecking him on the head. He got my husband once to the point he had a puncture wound and was bleeding. It got to the point if that coop was out free rangeing or if I had to go into the coop to feed or clean water dishes I took a large stick and had to whack him to keep him off of me. Any way this is my 2 cents worth. Good luck on your chickens. The last time we ordered the Red Star/Rhode Island Red package, we ordered a run of hens only and lucked out that the free rare chick was the only rooster we got.......Josette

Kevin, Your post is probably not in the best thread and maybe not even really in the best forum. You posted into someone else's thread that was about how to tell if there tree was dead. When posting a fairly unrelated question, request, or idea, you'll usually get more response if you start a new thread. Another advantage is that responses to your post will go to you instead of the person that started the original thread. Also, you might be more likely to get a response to a request for seeds in the Seed Exchange Forum. I really wish that there was some type of woody plant material exchange page, but unfortunately there's not. Another thing you may want to consider is that redbuds aren't as easy to grow from seed as many plants. The seeds are double dormant so require scarification and stratification for best results. You can grow them from seed if you are really determined to do so, but it's probably much easier just to buy one. This will also allow you to purchase a superior cultivar if desired and get a couple of years head start on growth.

Hi, I have been thinking about this thread. I think it was the spring swap that got confusing because we had about 5 threads going at the same time about it and you had to check all of them to figure out what information was posted where. I also noticed that the NH swap tried switching to the Exchange and only had about 3 posts to that thread since opening it and people kept posting to the Discussions thread. None of the other swap threads have 90+ threads, so they can continue to use the Discussion threads to talk about who is bringing what and what time it is and how to get there etc. and leave the exchange thread just for wants and haves. I don't have the patience either to copy/paste all the relevant information to a new post. So since I started the thread, I will open a new thread, on the Discussion list this morning. It will simply say Eastern MA Fall Swap 2005 Continued. If people want to continue to post everything to this thread that is fine, if someone would prefer seperating out the wants/haves to an Exchange thread feel free to start a thread there. At least we will then have only two threads going basically. Ready, set, go.. :-)

My sister just called me with a similar problem with the phoebe nest on her deck. The first thing that came to my mind was the cowbird. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this notorious brood parasite. Even though the cowbirds most common host is the yellow warbler, the brown-headed cowbird often targets Eastern phoebes for its host. I've actually seen female cowbirds egg-dump phoebe nests. It's an extremely fast process. Now before people have evil thoughts towards the brown-headed cowbird, I have to say this: it's not the cowbirds fault... Cowbirds evolved following roaming buffalo herds around, and therefore developed a breeding strategy (brood parasitism) that allowed them to do so. The cowbird used to be an uncommon species here in the northeast, but during the 17 and 1800s almost all forests were cut down for farmland. Since cowbirds are an open spaces/prairie species, this is the perfect habitat for them. They also like edge habitat (powerlines, forest edges etc.) So, I told my sister to keep watching the nest for a cowbird chick. The young, a week or two along, should be larger, louder and healthier by far than the others. It's more agressive behavior as a nestling makes it sure that it gets fed at the expense (often fatal) of the others. So if the young in a nest all look and sound the same, chances are it "cowbird-free."