I have an abundance of oak trees growing alonside of a creek next to my house. I would like to transplant them around my yard. can anyone tell me when the optimum time is to do so and also how should I address my shallow soil problem. I know I'll have to chip the rock down until I get a large enough hole for the trees but I also thought about using a tractor and auger to dig a really deep hole then backfill it with dirt.

What kind of oaks are they?
For instance, post oaks hardly ever survive transplanting, so it probably wouldn't be worth your effort.

Hmm what kind of oaks???? That's a good question.
Is there a link to photos of different types of oaks so I can tell what I'm looking at? I just know that they can drop some pretty big acorns.

Big acorns means bur oaks. Their leaves are quite big too. The bark is very thick and corky,even on young bur oaks and twigs. The bur oaks also become massive,magnificent, beautiful trees !! Thus they need much room to grow. Here in Fort Worth on the grounds of Trinity Park and Fort Worth Botanic Gardens are numerous bur oaks over 100 years old and have wingspan up to 80 feet.That is bigger than my back yard!

Tree Dude

Back to original questions...the best time to transplant almost anything is early winter, when things have gone dormant. Make sure you take lots of roots with you and put it in the ground like Howard always recommends. A big rough sided hole and nothing back in it with the plant's root ball except the soil you started with. I like to water in with a little seaweed for a kick start but after that I have always had success with the standard planting program. Compost on top, mulch for bare soil, and helping to make sure they get enough water to start off. After that you really are better off leaving them alone because if you baby them they won't ever get as strong as they will if you leave them alone.
Kathe

Gonna disagree slightly on 'best' time being early winter. Mid to late fall is best in my book, because while the upper parts are nearing dormancy thanks to cool/cold air, the roots are still actively growing thanks to still warm soil. Hence you end up with plenty of root growth happening before full dormancy sets in.

Of course more root growth will occur even over winter, but that boost in the Fall gives a good head start.

_________________
Shepherd of the Trees
It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succor of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields we know so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.