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Baby Barn Owl

Like all the birds which are newborn, baby barn owls are also born without wings, and they look ugly, as they come out of their egg shells. But they have remarkable growth and after five weeks they develop a very thick layer of dense feathers, and their signature heart shaped face as well.

Like all babies, baby barn owls are also very playful and jolly in this age like the kittens and puppies etc. They jump, hop around, make funny noises, move their heads in funny ways, and sometimes upside down.

Barn owl eggs hatch after thirty-one days after the incubation process. So the egg that hatches the first is almost three weeks older than the rest of the batch. As the remaining eggs hatch on their destined time, the elder barn owls may eat up the younger ones as there is scarcity of food and water.

Moreover, it is the rule of the wild, only the fittest survives. Also, this is a very crucial stage for baby barn owls, and it is not uncommon for the babies to fall from their nests. Unfortunately, most of the chick die in this process even though they do not bear any injury because the chicks fallen on the ground are ignored and remain unnoticed. Eventually they die due to food scarcity.

Like most of the birds, male barn owl is responsible for feeding his family. He hunts and brings the food for the family which the female rips into pieces and feeds to their young ones.

Once a baby barn owl is three weeks he is capable of chewing a shrew or even a small mouse, and he can eat it as a whole as well. At this stage, baby barn owls have maximum growth of feathers and they can keep themselves warm for longer periods.

Baby barn owl

Baby barn owls are not dangerous, but they are very shy. They don’t hoot like other owls; instead, they scream about two seconds. They eat mainly insects and animal chunks fed to them by their parents. A baby owl is called an owlet. This word is also used for the smallest species of birds. Mostly the lifespan of a barn owl is twenty years, but they mainly live for 14 years. A screeching owl is not good. It is a warning that you’ll hear that somebody died. The size of a barn owl is about the size of a small cat, but it only weighs a pound. They have an excellent vision for capturing prey at night.

What do you call a baby barn owl?

A young baby owl which is dependent on his parents for the feed, care, and attention and the one which is not hatched or developed properly is called an owlet. The plumage of an owlet is quite under-developed, and it seems more like cotton. Owlets mature slowly and even when they can fly and come out of their nest, they do not prefer to leave the nest for longer periods. However, as they grow up, they naturally get that exploring instinct and are mostly seen outside of the den and mainly at the grounds.

Now, as we know that all birds take time to wean up, so the baby owlets do not look familiar to young owls. They have very few plumages on their skin and do not have developed any kind of pigmentation on their bodies. However, you may want to identify the species of an owlet, the colour of the eyes, and beaks helps a lot. But, there are few species whose bill colour changes with the time. Those owls that have ear outgrowns on their head, even little ones, those owlets will definitely have ear tufts when they mature. The wings of owlets may develop faster than the rest of the plumage, and probably when they take their first flight, they may have a few markings on their feathers as compared to the rest of their body.

Though baby owls are not physically capable of flying, however, they have to leave their nests in order to fly and explore, a process known as “Branching”. In this process, the baby owlets usually become exposed to the predators easily; however, as they grow up, they become curious about every little thing. Because they have sensitive hearing and seeing abilities, they may tilt their head in every direction to take a full view of the world from diverse angles.

What do you do if you find a baby barn owl?

The parents (male and female owls) are quite cautious about the security of their young ones, and they can rigorously attack anything from which they feel any kind of threat. Threats can be anything or anyone, including other mammals, predators, and sometimes humans and their pieces of machinery. If you are sightseeing and you are observing birds, and if you discover owlets you should be very cautious. You must have to maintain your space between the owlets and you. If the parents of owlets have acknowledged your presence, then they may hurt you.

However, if you find an injured owlet on the ground or nearby, you should contact a wildlife specialist immediately. Do not try to handle the wounded owlet or give it first aid on your own because inexperience can lead you to several other problems.

One thing that birders usually ignore while rescuing or handling an owlet is that even when they are immature and have not properly developed, they are still dangerous and can cause injuries. The claws, beaks and talons of the owlets are sharp and firm and can harm you. Also, it would be best if you avoided unnecessary rush like children and other pets around an owlet so that they do not get frightened, and thus stress can be reduced.

What do baby barn owls eat?

As owls are carnivorous animals, therefore they are totally dependent upon the animal protein for their nutrition. Owls and their babies love to eat anything that contains meat. Therefore they will eat anything from mammals, reptiles, amphibians, worms to little insects. Most owl species have some food preferences too, for example, some lie to catch bats and others prefer several kinds of fish.

Remember that owls like other birds do not possess any teeth for biting and chewing; therefore, they gulp up the whole prey or the chunk in the case of baby owls.

While you are talking about the owls and their babies you should expect the unusual from these creatures. Likewise, I once saw a baby owl eating the leg of a pheasant which is larger than him, but it kept swallowing until it was gone.

Similarly, the parents also feed their young ones ducks, toads, small snakes, worms and insects too. Once I saw a screech owl family feeding their young ones, the parents lined up all their owlets on an electric line, and they fed them with moths which were present next to that electric pole.

Most of the owls like screech owls prefer to hunt specific kinds of things, and they teach their owlets the same. However, there are some owls like the great horned owl, which munch upon anything smaller in size.

So in the nests baby owls are dependent upon their parents, whatever they feed them they have to eat it. Once they mature and leave the nest, then they are on their own and will catch whenever they find an opportunity and will feed upon them.

If you see an owl or a young owl sitting in your garden, it must be there for prey like rodents, lizards and other insects and not the vegetables you have grown in the garden.

What does a baby owl mean?

If you see an owl or a baby owl in your dream or you just happened to see them, then maybe the universe is trying to say something to you. According to the native American beliefs, owls are associated with night and hence are called ghosts or the carriers of messages from the departed souls. People also believe that if you listen to an owl hooting, it means it is giving you a warning about death. According to Celtic and ancient mythologies, the owls are famous for their wisdom and intelligence. So, it means you are going to explore the unhidden, or you need to focus more on your life.

Baby barn owl sounds

Baby barn owls belong to the family of heart-shaped owls, and hence you know that these owls do not hoot like tawny owls and the others. On the other hand, they produce a screeching sound which is much more similar to a hissing scream. Males use these sounds to attract mates while females and baby barn owls use such screeching calls to beg food from the males.

10 baby barn owl facts

Baby barn owls when hatch from their eggs are absolutely adorable. Though they look like a ball of cotton, or a bald animal with way much bigger beaks for their heads but still they are babies and cute. Below are some baby barn owl facts which you may not know before:

Most of the baby animals are known as kits or chicks, but the baby owls have got a special name known as Owlets.
Like all baby birds, owls are also born with an egg-tooth, we know you may become amused that they have beaks and no teeth, but this tooth falls after a few weeks.
Owls do not lay eggs all at once the whole clutch is arranged at different times, so the owlets will differ in size from each other because they will not hatch together.
Remember bay barn owls or any baby owl will imprint itself on you if they do not see their parents. So, while handling newborn owls you have to be very careful, and therefore you have to cover yourself up while feeding them and you may have to use owl puppets to feed them.
Baby barn owls siblings are all from the same parents making them monogamous,
Like other birds, barn owls are not programmed or have any kind of instinct to build their nests; they just take over the leftover nests of other birds and may build nests in tree holes and different types of cavities.
Baby barn owls when weaned up like to explore their surroundings and you may find them on the ground often. So, do not panic and just let them because their parents are always near them and are keeping an eye on them.
Baby barn owl leaves its nest quickly almost after six weeks.
As owls are birds of prey, therefore they mature up very quickly. A baby barn owl after eight and nine weeks is fully grown with plumage
Barn owls can grow large once they mature, but when they are brown, they are of buff colour and are almost the size of a baby chicken.

Baby barn owl sleeping

The sleeping patterns of baby barn owls are much similar to the baby mammals or baby humans. Mammals and owls both have two kinds of sleep; “REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep” and “Non-REM”. When a human baby is born, he spends most of his time in the REM sleep. Though owls’ eyes are stationary, they still spend most of their time in REM sleep. In this kind of sleeping pattern, the baby owlets showed activities in which it was clear that their brain is awake while their eyes are closed. Hence, it was reported that as a human baby spends most of its time in REM sleep and as they mature the REM sleep diminishes the same happens with the baby barn owls.

Feeding a baby barn owl

Baby barn owls eat all such things that contain meat. As they have no teeth, therefore they swallow the whole prey. Baby owls or adult owls both prefer the same kinds of prey, for example, the small mammals like rodents’ squirrels, rats, mice, insects, lizards, snakes, reptiles, amphibians, they all make up an owl’s diet.

What does a baby barn owl look like?

Baby barn owls when born have a lot of dense, buffed white feathers on their bodies which gives them an overall white look. In other words, they have very soft and lightweight white plumage which grows thicker and thicker as they mature. Remember that owls moult a lot.

Baby barn owl noise

Baby barn owls do not hoot, but they do yell. The sounds they make most often are similar to that of high pitched screams. They also use a call known as tremolo, which usually lasts about three or six seconds, the owls use these calls to communicate among families and to pair up with a mate.