Pellets
Pellets are the undigested parts of a bird’s food that some bird species, including raptors, regurgitate back up in pellet form, which are also known as a casting. In owl pellets specifically, you will not only find fur and feather, but also the bones of the prey the owl has eaten. This means that depending on the species and location of the owl, you will never know what you will find.
Dissecting owl pellets is a fun and popular activity for students that many groups participate in. As an educational tool, they can be used to introduce you to skeletal anatomy and learning how to identify bones and can help to illustrate the nature of food chains.
The owl pellets that we provide here at OWL are collected from wild Barn Owl nests. This means that the pellets could contain a wide variety of bones from many different species of prey; Anything from birds to different species of rodents. We don’t collect the pellets from the birds at our centre as they are feed a diet of mostly domestically raised mice and don’t contain the variety you would get from the wild counterparts.
All of our owl pellets are heat treated, wrapped, and then frozen to ensure they are sterilized before you receive them.
Interested in Learning More About Pellets?
We offer a 40-minute Owl Pellet virtual education program. We teach you about OWL and what we do, learn about owl pellets and how they are formed, and demonstrate how to dissect a pellet to get your group started. You also get to meet one of our Owl Ambassadors!
Ordering Pellets
Please click the item below to purchase pellets through our online Gift Shop. If you would like to pay by cheque or pick up your pellets, please email us at info@owlrehab.ca
Cost
1 single pellet – $3.99
1 bag of 10 pellets – $29.99
