[randymcone]

Please help. I have a weird situation.
My Chinese owls have a pair of 3 week old hatchlings.
One of my female Horseman (paired) has decided to take over the hatchlings. She runs the owls out of the nest box and tends to the young. It looks like she feeds them as well.

As I type this, I have the female Horseman in a small isolation box. First time for this.
Should I keep her isolated until the hatchings are out of the nest?

 

[Jay3]

Think you're going to have to confine her until they are out of the nest. It really isn't good for her to be driving the parents away and taking them over. Imagine how they must feel. That's something else. She'll probably make a great Mom when she hatches her own.

 

[Matt Bell]

If it were me I would just take and put them on the floor, then all the birds will feed them. At 3 weeks old they will be jumping out of the nest soon anyways, and if you do it yourself at least you know they won't break anything doing it themselves.

 

[spirit wings]

I had some figurita hens (paired) feed my frillback babies, but they did not disturb the frillback parents, so in your situation, I would say try what matt said, or take both pouters out, as taking his hen away may cause trouble leaving her mate in there alone. and it is just nice to keep the pairs together if they need to be out of the breeding section.

 

[Margarret]

I just had a Homer cock sneak in and feed a pair of Homer squeakers every time he could. The parents ran him off, but he would come back whenever possible. Now they have fledged and he feeds them out in the aviary or on the floor. They were huge babies because of all the extra feedings.

Margaret

 

[randymcone]

I'm not so worried that the Horseman will injure the babies but that she will injure the owl parents. Owls are half the size of my horseman. They fight it out and, from what I've witnessed, she drives the parents out of the nest box quite violently. pecking at eyes and driving her beak into thier necks.
I have her isolated right now. Everytime I let her back into general population she makes a bee line for the hatchlings.

 

[Matt Bell]

Put them on the ground and the problems will be solved.

 

[Jay3]

Why not just remove her and her mate until the babies come out of the box on their own?

 

[LokotaLoft]

Why not just remove her and her mate until the babies come out of the box on their own?

I agree ,if you can seperate them til they are able to be on the floor it would be bestest why mess with the natural order of things