FREE Owl Pellet Dissection Guide
Owl Pellet Lab
Not sure how to start your Owl Pellet Dissection Lab or just need a refresher? Start here and use this FREE Owl Pellet Dissection Guide to help you. For a printable version of this guide, click the button below.
What Is An Owl Pellet? A Very Brief Explanation.
After swallowing its food whole the Barn Owl relies on its Gizzard to help it digest. After swallowing bones, fur, and all, the Gizzard separates out what the Owl cannot digest. Several hours later, after the Gizzard has finished its job, the Owl regurgitates a Pellet or sometimes more than one. This pellet is a mass of all the indigestible bits that the gizzard separated.
At Oregon Owl Pellets our Owl Pellets come from Oregon Barn Owls, we gather the pellets from our local area barns and other structures Barn Owls like to nest in.
Planning the Owl Pellet Dissection Lesson
Supplies and Materials
The following will list some, but not all supplies you may need.
- *Owl Pellets, any size
- The most important part of your Owl Pellet Dissection Lab.
- Tray or Plate
- You may need a larger one, depending on the size of the pellets.
- *Plastic Forceps/Tweezers And *Wooden Dissection Sticks
- For tearing apart pellets and pulling out bones.
- Spray bottle or similar (optional)
- Note: A small amount of water can be used to soften the pellets prior to students opening them. This makes them easier to dissect and reduces the risk of breaking remains while opening the pellets.
- Non-latex gloves or dish washing gloves
- A good reassurance for those who might be a little squeamish.
- *Facemask (Optional)
- *Owl Pellet Bone Chart (Recommended)
- Owl Pellet Bone and Dissection Chart helps students identify bones found in owl pellets.
- Clean Desk or Table
- Like any lab, have adequate space for your students to work.
*Included in our Owl Pellet Dissection Kits.
Things to keep in mind.
Rodent bones are the most common bone found in owl pellets. These can include voles, rats, mice, and even shrews. To avoid breaking fragile bones, students should work slowly. This is when using water to soften the owl pellet can be very important. Put a little on each pellet.
"Remind your students not to put the Owl Pellet in their mouth. If they do, don’t worry, the sanitized pellets will not hurt them. However it would be a good precaution to have them rinse their mouth with mouthwash afterwards."
Dissection and Bone Collection
As your students begin dissecting the pellets, have them set aside bones or other remains they find. Sometimes this can include rodent skulls.
Encourage them to identify what they find. For older students this may be easier so give them the added challenge of putting bones from the same animal together.
We provide a free bone chart with the purchase of our Owl Pellets! Or click the button below to download a FREE PDF of our Owl Pellet Bone Identification Chart and print as many copies as you need!
Highest Quality And Safety
We carefully hand select each Owl Pellet to ensure quality. Heat thoroughly to kill any harmful bacteria, protecting you and your students. Then finally, wrap each pellet to protect it during shipping. In short, we want you to receive only the best quality Owl Pellets for your classroom.
If you’re not sure where to start try one of our Owl Pellet Dissection Kits.