Serving Idaho, the West Coast, and Anywhere Online
EDUCATION
Nature's Remedy is in business to help in the conservation and preservation of owls and other wildlife. We also educate people about the dangers of using rodenticides (poison) and how secondary poisoning causes collateral damage to our wildlife and pets
THE APPEAL OF OWL BARNS:
A SAFE HAVEN FOR CAVITY-DWELLING BIRDS OF PREY
Barn owls, known as "cavity dwellers," forgo traditional nest-building habits. Instead, they seek refuge in structures like the Owl Barn. What draws them to these artificial sanctuaries? The answer lies in a single feature: the entry hole. Unlike plywood nesting boxes, Owl Barns offer unparalleled durability. This ensures the safety of their inhabitants.
Safe habitats are essential for the conservation of barn owls and kestrels. At Nature's Remedy, educating the public about the perils of using poisons and rodenticides is our priority. Secondary poisoning, poisoning wildlife and creatures whom the poison was not intended for, poses a grave threat to wildlife and pets. This is a concern that is often underestimated. By raising awareness, we empower individuals to reconsider the methods they are using for pest and rodent control and seek safer and more cost effective alternatives like the Owl Barn.
Our owl barns are crafted with the utmost care and attention to detail, ensuring unmatched quality, the safety of the owls nesting inside, and lifetime durability. Our Owl Barn is designed and tested to withstand the rigors of daily use while delivering exceptional results. With Nature's Remedy, you can trust that you're investing in a product that not only meets your needs and the needs of its inhabitants, the barn owls and kestrels, but also stands the test of time.
Nature's Remedy's Owl Boxes are make in the USA in the great state of Idaho, and we serve Idaho, the west coast, and anywhere online. Find out how to get your very own Owl Barn today!
Frequently Asked Questions/Answers
Q. For nesting box construction, does size matter?
A. It definitely does! Most wood nesting boxes you see on-line for sale are actually "roosting" boxes! One, maybe two, adult barn owls can fit in them somewhat comfortably, definitely not 6-8. Remember owlets remain in their nesting box until they are nearly full-grown and while they are in there they have been regurgitating pellets inside the box for all most two months. This is why the Owl Barn has an altered "gambrel"-style roof for BOTH shells, which allows for extra head room as the box fills with debris during the nesting period.
Q. What do barn owls eat?
A. The basic answer is rodents, the specific rodents depends on the region. Their favorite meals include voles, pocket gophers, moles, rats, mice, small snakes as well as some insects that are active at night. Barn owls are nocturnal hunters primarily one hour after sunset and ending one hour before sunrise. If food is scarce, you can see them hunting during the day. Remember that barn owls weigh 1 to 1 1/2 pounds full grown and they eat their prey WHOLE. Your dogs, cats and chickens are safe. If you leave kittens, puppies and chicks outside at night unprotected that's on you!
There are many predators hunting at night that do eat the aforementioned including great horned owls, coyotes, fox, bob cats and others depending on where you live.
One barn owl will typically consume 2-3 rodents a night, which works out to approximately 1000 rodents year!
Q. Why is it a bad idea to install a nesting box in a tree?
A. The purpose of installing a nesting box is to provide a SAFE habitat for a cavity-dwelling bird of prey to raise its young and increase that bird's population. In my case, the nesting boxes are for barn owls, American kestrels and, in a few cases, western screech owls. If a nesting box is installed in a tree or on a wood post, any "climbing predator" can raid the box and destroy whatever is in the box.
The photo accompanying this answer is the least graphic I wish to share. Trust me, it can be a lot worse! You can view YouTube videos where cameras are mounted inside the boxes but some are not for the faint of heart. At least, for wood posts, you can install a baffler such as diamond lath that will prevent predators from reaching the nesting box. To me this is common sense but unfortunately I see other companies and sites promoting the installation in trees.
Q. Is wood or plastic the better material for nesting boxes?
A. When I started Nature's Remedy, I built, installed and maintained wooden nesting boxes for the first five years. The advantage of wood is definitely the "short term" costs, but the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages!
#1 You can only ventilate a wooden box so much. A wooden box becomes an oven in the warmer months! I rescue owls, and in the warmer months, I am swamped with calls from people reporting that owlets are evacuating their boxes because of the heat buildup inside wooden boxes. Those are the lucky ones. The younger owlets who can't escape have no chance! They are definitely not safe habitats.
#2 Wooden boxes lack durability. Unpainted wooden boxes may last three years before they need to be replaced. Weather fluctuations cause expansion and contraction of the wood (plywood) which causes the joints to separate over time and delamination of the plywood. Painting the exterior of the box white helps somewhat with the heat and durability.
#3 Wooden nesting boxes make great beehives, and once honey bees take over a box, it is history. I lost several boxes due to bees and actually lost owlets because of the box being "swarmed"! A bees' nest will not adhere to a plastic box, and our unique placement of the ventilation holes on both shells deter the bees and wasps from entering the inner shell.
#4 The biggest negative with wooden boxes is cleaning them out, a necessity after every successful nesting season. I literally used a hammer and chisel to try to remove the debris which bonds like concrete to porous plywood. The danger of doing this is the risk of contracting hantavirus, which I did! Remember what you are cleaning out of a nesting box: rodents, partial rodents, excrement from both owls and rodents, and sometimes owl remains. Even being fully masked and covered from head to toe didn't spare me. The dust you breathe while cleaning a box is invisible and can be deadly!
Barn owls are attracted to nesting boxes because of the entry hole, whether the box is wooden or plastic. Some people say, "barn owls prefer wooden boxes over plastic", and they are full of it! Did a barn owl tell you that? Did they also tell you that they prefer the nesting box to be 15 feet in the air and facing a certain direction?? In the 15 years I've been doing this, I have never seen a barn owl with a tape measure or compass! It's funny that the same people who say barn owls prefer wood are selling wooden nesting boxes.
I have first-hand experience using both wood and plastic. Plastic nesting boxes are, by far, the better long-term investment, and they never need to be replaced. The dual-shelled design of the Owl Barn is the ONLY box that offers a constant fixed air barrier between the two shells. The other dual shelled plastic box I worked with had a floating inner shell which doesn't allow for this barrier. The fixed inner shell and the one piece face plate (barn door) of the Owl Barn keeps the debris inside the inner shell, making for easy clean out. Our design allows the inner shell to slide in and out easily, keeping the debris inside the inner shell. No other nesting box, wooden or plastic, has this design. That's why the Owl Barn is considered the best barn owl nesting box on the market today!
