Barn Owl Pellet Breakdown
Providing Everything You Need
What are Barn Owl Pellets
Barn owl pellets are compact bundles of indigestible material that a barn owl regurgitates after eating.
How they form
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Barn owls swallow prey (usually mice, voles, shrews, or small birds) mostly whole.
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The soft tissues are digested in the stomach.
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Indigestible parts — bones, teeth, fur, feathers, claws — are compressed into a tight mass.
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The owl later coughs up (regurgitates) this mass as a pellet.
What they look like
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Oval or cylindrical
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About 1–3 inches long
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Dark gray or brown
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Often found beneath roosting or nesting spots (like barns, trees, or rafters)
Why they matter
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🦴 Great for science classes — bones are often intact, making them ideal for studying small mammal skeletons.
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🌎 Helpful for ecologists — pellets reveal what prey species live in an area.
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🦉 Normal digestion — pellet casting is healthy and routine for owls.
Barn Owl Pellet Analysis
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Place the pellet on a tray and gently break it apart using tweezers.
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Separate bones from fur and other materials.
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Sort bones by type (skulls, jawbones, ribs, vertebrae, leg bones).
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Use a bone identification chart to determine the species of prey.
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Count the number of individual animals represented.