Barn Owl

...is essential when considering a Barn Owl as a pet.

Barn Owls require a lot of care and attention. They are nocturnal and so any time spent with them will largely be at twilight and they will make quite a bit of noise during the evening / night (not recommended if you have close neighbours). They require large purpose built aviary, workplace and specialist equipment. They eat and have to be fed dead chicks or mice. They will require ...
...fulfill all their requirements, the Barn Owl does indeed make a beautiful and fulfilling pet. Without further ado, let me introduce you to my pair of Barn Owls, Artemis and Kanati (named after the Greek goddess of Hunting and the Cherokee North American god of hunting respectively).

My husband bought me the birds for my birthday last year from a local breeder at the cost of £50 each. We have since discovered that Barn Owls can be purchased ... more

Owls have always been associated with wisdom and wisdom is essential when considering a Barn Owl as a pet.

Barn Owls require a lot of care and attention. They are nocturnal and so any time spent with them will largely be at twilight and they will make quite a bit of noise during the evening / night (not recommended if you have close neighbours). They require large purpose built aviary, workplace and specialist equipment. They eat and have to be fed dead chicks or mice. They will require specialist veterinary attention. All of which requires a lot of money!

And so, if you feel that you can fulfill all their requirements, the Barn Owl does indeed make a beautiful and fulfilling pet. Without further ado, let me introduce you to my pair of Barn Owls, Artemis and Kanati (named after the Greek goddess of Hunting and the Cherokee North American god of hunting respectively).

My husband bought me the birds for my birthday last year from a local breeder at the cost of £50 each. We have since discovered that Barn Owls can be purchased very cheaply from a number of sources. But beware, there are certain laws surrounding Barn owls: Each person selling a captive bred Barn Owl must have in his or her possession an Article 10 Certificate issued by DEFRA (The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) and the owl must also wear a closed leg ring. Check these carefully before buying!

The Barn Owl or Tyto Alba (was first officially described in 1769 by Giovanni Scopoli, an Italian naturalist. The species name "alba" also refers to the colour white) is probably the most attractive of the owl family. They have a distinctive heart-shaped white face outlined in brown with round dark eyes and no ear tufts. They are approximately 15 to 20 inches in height with long, feathered legs enabling them to walk well as well as fly. Their breasts are largely white with brown specks and their long wings a blend of brown, white and cream. They have very sharp talons for seizing and holding prey: the owls are very gentle creatures and often sit on my unprotected arms but in saying this it is advisable to always wear a glove as they will tighten their grasp if disturbed. Their beaks are hooked for tearing meat and can also be very sharp so it is important to watch your fingers.

The eyes of the owl can only look forward in a fixed position and cannot move from side to side. Therefore to look around, the owl must turn its whole head – a really endearing quality.

A Barn Owl does not hoot or “Too wit too woo” but instead makes a loud rasping hiss rather like a screech and will also make a chattering noise. It must be stressed that they can get very noisy indeed. The birds are very vocal and do make their requirements know. Their vocalizations correspond to different messages. The most prolific and loudest is that of hunger. I feed them at a regular time of 5.30 p.m. each evening and just prior to this they begin telling me it is time. There is an aggressive warning screech, issued occasionally at each other (when eating), strangers and passing animals. The conversational chattering / twittering noises are mainly made when I spend time quietly with them sitting on their blocks (or on me).

The owls require an aviary big enough to enable them to fly around. They need perches within the aviary, a shadowed semi-enclosed area for sleeping through the day and water for bathing. For two owls, an aviary has to be at least 12 foot by 10 foot with a two-door entry system (it is illegal to release a captive born barn owl into the wild so precautions must be taken). The perches should be as natural as possible: we are fortunate in that we have a lot of trees in our garden so replacements are in abundance. The shadowed area proved to be more difficult: we opted for a shelf at the back of the aviary lined with astro turf enclosed on three sides. The floor has to be easily washable (they make quite a lot of mess): we tiled ours over a slightly sloping area. Before building the aviary, we visited different aviaries for inspiration including a bird sanctuary and Chester Zoo. We then checked our designs with the breeder and the bird sanctuary. The aviary is quite large so you need to ensure that there is sufficient room in your garden. We positioned ours to the side of the house (just opposite the lounge side window where our computer is situated enabling us to look out at them and them to look in at us). This position also gives the birds the optimum of shelter from the elements and is away from the front entrance so as not to attract unwelcome attention.

As I have said, Barn Owls are nocturnal so the best time for feeding is at dusk as they are waking. Chose a time and try to keep to this as much as possible (my time is 5.30 p.m. – my usual return from work and before our own meal). The birds get used to this and are ready and waiting eagerly. Their staple food is dead chicks and mice. These are bought frozen and must be defrosted thoroughly before feeding (a separate freezer is really required for their storage – more expense). The amount the birds eat depends on their weight and whether they are being flown or not (more of this later). The chicks have to be prepared (not a job for the squeamish). They have to be de-yolked and cut into bite-sized portions. The chicks are eaten in their entirety; bones and all: the indigestible parts are formed into pellets and disgorged around the aviary.

The aviary needs to be cleaned thoroughly each day to remove pellets and clean the prolific amount of droppings and discarded food debris. To do this we have a jet cleaner and a stiff brush but remember this takes a lot of time and is not a pleasant job.

To fly the birds (a truly magnificent experience), the birds have to be at the right weight. They need weighing daily and chart maintained (more equipment). Barn Owls can easily be trained to fly to the hand for food but they must be hungry. You need to fit the birds with flying jesses made from kangaroo leather to which a creance can be attached. It is illegal to release a Barn Owl into the wild. We use the creance for reassurance as the birds can get easily distracted and could easily fly off. You need approximately 30 feet diameter to fly the owls, an outside high perch and a leather glove. To see the birds with their magnificent wingspan (43 inches) swooping toward you is an awesome sight to behold. We fly the owls most nights except in bad weather (they do not like the rain or wind and hated the snow).

A Barn Owls’ health can deteriorate rapidly. It is important to know the birds’ general condition so any changes can be noted promptly and treated. Every so often you need to give the birds a check-over. The beak and talons should be checked and any excess growth trimmed. The feet should be checked, particularly the soles, for signs of bumble foot. Their anuses checked for signs of diarrhoea. Their breath smelt. It is likely that at some point in their life veterinary care will be needed. Not all vets treat owls so it is important to locate one who does and keep the number handy.

The Barn Owl is not a usual kind of pet and requires a lot of knowledge and skill to care for properly. Getting one as a pet is NOT to be taken lightly. To ensure we provide the best care possible, we enrolled on a course at a local Bird’s of Prey Centre where we were trained in everyday care, feeding and flying and received advice and guidance on equipment and habitat. Again not cheap – the course cost us £170 each but thoroughly recommended if you intend to keep a Barn Owl and in case they are reading, Thanks to all the Gauntlet Bird of Prey in Knutsford. We still keep in touch with the center on a monthly basis to buy the food and also provide us with regular contact with experts if any advice is needed.

Barn Owls have a relatively short life expectancy, in the wild, most die in their first year of life. In captivity this is increased to around10 years. So if you do get a Barn Owl you must remember that this is a long-term commitment.

The questions below are somewhat irrelevant so please ignore. And as to, "Do I recommend?", yes I do but only if you are prepared to put in the work, the time and expense. It is not easy to keep a Barn Owl as a pet. 

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