Meanwhile, back at the nest....

Here you see Athena hard at work caring for her young. Brooding Five chicks is tough work!

Barn owls start incubating as soon as the first egg is laid, so the oldest chick is two weeks older (and considerably bigger) than the youngest chick. Raptor chicks can't thermo-regulate, so Athena has to brood them to keep them warm. As they get older and get more down, they need less brooding.

The chicks being raised in the nest box will be released here in Missouri. In the midwest, barn owls are rare. The parents (Athena and Sonar) are both unreleasable rehab birds. Most of the babies we raise are released. A smaller number are raised for breeding or education.