Barn Owl Nest Box

The entrance hole size is perfect for barn owls but too small for larger predators.

Barn owl nest box.

An indoor barn owl nestbox is not suitable for outdoor use and an outdoor nestbox is much better placed in a tree because trees usually afford more shelter and owlets can sometimes climb a tree to re enter the box. Barn owls are very sensitive during the early phases of nesting april may and will abandon a nest if disturbed. Barn owls can easily be attracted to nest boxes barn owls have become very popular to attract for various reasons. If the box is mounted on a pole use a baffle to prevent cats raccoons and other predators from reaching it.

Owners of vineyards orchards and farms have found that barn owls can significant reduce damage by crop eating rodents. Research indicates a female barn owl will remain in a large spacious nest box tending to her chicks until the youngest is about 3 5 to 4 weeks old. Property owners can benefit the same way with sometimes no more than one or two nest boxes. Nesting platforms can also be placed in barns steeples or silos if the owls will be able to access them easily.

About our barn owl boxes there are many owl nest boxes available for purchase but some are significantly better than others and some are actually unsafe. Barn owl nest boxes are often set up inside an open air building such as a barn shed or an abandoned building but barn owls will also move into a nest boxes mounted to trees or poles in suitable open areas near fields woodlands and orchards. This innovative nest box is contributing to highly effective natural rodent control programs while reducing the use of pesticides and aiding in barn owl conservation in numerous states. Boxes can be placed in a variety of structures including barns silos granaries grain elevators and church steeples or mounted on a free standing pole.

A box on the outside will only last about 10 15 years. Barn owls which can be established in dense colonies eat high numbers of rodents and remain faithful to their nest sites have been shown to reduce rodent numbers at less cost than trapping or poisons. Nest boxes based on the popular simmon s design measuring 23 x 12 x 16 caused feather damage hock and foot sores and likely the demise of at least one chick. Place a barn owl nest box at least 15 20 feet high but be sure the opening is shaded from the sun and wind.