pelletlab - Barn Owl Pellets

Owl Pellets

SALE - Extra Large Pellet for the price of a Regular !
THIS OFFER IS GOOD THRU 3/31/2010

Anyone buying owl pellets has many choices. Just try searching “owl pellet” and the options are baffling! Who to choose? Mountain Home Biological has been supplying pellets since 1994. All pellets are sorted, dried, heat treated and wrapped in our facility in Bingen, Washington and monthly samples are submitted to an independent lab for testing to ensure your safety. Our pledge to you is complete satisfaction, from the time your order is received by our knowledgeable staff to the arrival of your carefully
prepared specimen. Thank you!

Extra Large Regular Price $2.65
(See Discount Price Below)

Also- SAVE on a Gallon of Possibilities, Regular Price $30.00
(See Discount Price Below)

Learn more about owl habitat.

Item	Description	Price
P1A	Extra Large Pellet: 2 in +, can contain up to 6 prey.	$2.40
P1	Regular Pellet: 1.5 - 2 in, usually contain 2-3 prey. 100 or more $2.25 each.	$2.40
P2	Small Pellet: 1.25 - 1.5 in, will contain the remains of at least 1 complete prey.	$1.45
P1M	Natural Mix:Save money with a mix of pellets. Contains 70% Regular, 20% Small, 10% Extra Large. Order at least 10 please!	$2.15
P1B	Bird Pellets: Occasionally barn owls will consume other birds. The resulting pellet provides a unique opportunity to explore the skeletal anatomy of a bird.	$4.95
P41	A Gallon of Possibilities: Small pellets and fragments, heat-treated and unwrapped. We found over 100 skulls in an average gallon.	$24.00

Argentine Pellet
~Extra Credit~ We have a small number of Barn owl pellets collected in Argentina. These pellets do resemble our NW pellets but will may contain a variety of prey found only in South America, including the Bunny Rat Reithrodon auritus, the Argentine Long-Tailed Rat Oligoryzomys longicaudatus, and the Tuco-Tuco Ctenomys haig. An online search will bring up many pages of useful information to enhance your dissection of these fascinating specimens.
P1F $4.95

Handling Guidelines These pellets have been professionally heat-treated in our in-house laboratory for your safety. As with all dissections, it is still recommended that students wear gloves when handling owl pellets and clean hands and work area when finished with the dissection. On rare occasions students who are allergic to pets may have a reaction from owl pellets which do contain hair of the prey. It is a good idea to excuse students who are allergic to pets form the dissection. Click here for Safety Supplies

Pellet Dissection Tools

Three useful tools, just right for dissection owl pellets:

Plastic forceps, fine pint with serrated tips are useful for handling small bones.
Bamboo probes sold in a pack of 15 are disposable and just right for dissection owl pellets.
Dual power hand lens (3x & 6x) useful for identifying rodents from tooth structure.

Item	Description	Price
P16	Plastic Forceps	$0.50
P15	Bamboo Probes, 15 pack	$1.00
P34	Dual Power Hand Lens	$0.75

Please Note: Pellet size in all kits is 1.5" or larger.

Classroom Owl Pellet Kit
A great value for teaching with owl pellets, this kit contains everything you need for up to 30 students working in pairs. Kit contains: 15 heat-treated, wrapped Barn Owl pellets, Owl Pellet Teachers Guide, one Teeth of Small Mammals Poster, one Food Web Poster, one Vole Skeleton Poster, 30 bone sorting sheets, and 30 bamboo probes.
P3 $46.25

Deluxe Owl Pellet Kit

Our deluxe kit contains everything you need to present an exciting and memorable owl pellet lab for up to 30 students, each with their very own high quality specimen to dissect. This kit contains 30 heat-treated, wrapped Barn Owl pellets, Owl Pellet Teachers Guide, a complete 10 poster set, 30 bone sorting sheets, and 30 bamboo probes and 30 fine-tip plastic forceps.

P19 $98.50

Owl Pellet Explorer Kit

Ideal for the young scientist working from home! This kit contains 1 each of: Owl pellet, hand lens, probe, plastic forceps, student guide and bone sorting sheet.

P20 $7.25

Student Owl Pellet Kit
Designed for one or two students, this attractive kit contains three heat-treated Barn Owl pellets in foil, 2 bamboo probes, a hand magnifying lens, forceps, two 8 1/2" x 11" bone-sorting sheets, and an eight-page illustrated Student Owl Pellet Guide. An ideal tool for home-schooling, museums, or demonstration purposes.
P4 $13.70

Teacher's Guide
This guide was developed by Mark Bechard, Professor of Biology with emphasis on raptor biology and a trainer of teachers in this field. Illustrations are by award-winning graphic artist Randy Swope. This guide features background information about the Common Barn Owl, pellets, prey species and pellet analysis, as well as guides for classroom use of pellets. Included are teaching objectives, teaching methods, and reference materials. Worksheets on Barn Owl food habits, the food web, inquiry sheets, skeletal anatomy, and common objects found in pellets are also included.
P5 $9.00

Bone Sorting Sheets
An excellent teaching tool for identifying prey found in owl pellets. Taken from the Bone Sorting Poster, each sheet contains drawings of a mole, shrew, rodent, and bird, their skeletons, and a series of identifying bones. Sold in packs of 15.
P14 $3.50

Posters
Magnificent posters printed on heavy weight paper, measuring 18 x 24 in. These posters will greatly enhance the study of owl pellets, and are also available in transparencies.

Item	Description	Price
P6	Food Web Poster	$3.00
P6T	Food Web Transparency	$3.00
P7	Bone Sorting Poster	$3.00
P7T	Bone Sorting Transparency	$3.00
P8	Mole Skeleton Poster	$3.00
P8T	Mole Skeleton Transparency	$3.00
P9	Shrew Skeleton Poster	$3.00
P9T	Shrew Skeleton Transparency	$3.00
P10	Vole Skeleton Poster	$3.00
P10T	Vole Skeleton Transparency	$3.00
P11	Bird Skeleton Poster	$3.00
P11T	Bird Skeleton Transparency	$3.00
P12	Characteristics Poster	$3.00
P12T	Characteristics Transparency	$3.00
P13	Hunting Adaptations Poster	$3.00
P13T	Hunting Adaptations Transparency	$3.00
P17	Teeth Poster	$3.00
P17T	Teeth Transparency	$3.00
P18	Typical Raptors Poster	$3.00
P18T	Typical Raptors Transparency	$3.00
P45	10 Poster Set	$27.00
P45T	10 Transparency Set	$27.00

Hoo Eats Who?
In response to requests from teachers of kindergarten and elementary grades, here is a project for the younger set. It can be used alone, or as a great activity for enhancing Barn Owl pellet studies for various ages. This easily-transportable activity set would also be ideal for home-schooling, summer camps, Scout groups, science clubs, etc. Materials include 15 artfully-designed sets of black and white stickers depicting the Barn Owl and its prey. Students construct their own food-webs, drawing the ground with vegetation and seeds, arranging stickers and drawing arrows leading from the lowest levels of food to the owl at the top. Directions for use are provided, including a key to each prey species’ diet, a sample food-web, and a simplified lesson for the youngest students. One packet can accommodate up to 30 students working in pairs.
P35 $17.80

The Barn Owl - Video or DVD
The Barn Owl... An Introduction to Owl Pellet Labs describes the habitat and life-cycle of the Barn Owl. Computer animation is used to show the adaptations which allow the owl to find prey in darkness and process the prey into pellets. The final portion of this video is an overview of classroom techniques with owl pellets, including dissection and identification of prey and their skeletal parts. 15 minutes.

Item	Description	Price
P31	The Barn Owl Video	$49.95
P31D	Barn Owl DVD	$49.95

Owl Pellet and Common Prey Mount
Featured are a complete pellet, a partially dissected pellet showing skeletal prey remains, and the skulls and mandibles of the 5 most common owl prey. The labeled skulls included are pocket gopher, rat, vole, mouse and shrew. Display size is 8 1/2" x 6 1/2"
RM03 $59.95

Owl Pellet Riker Mount
This display features one complete owl pellet, one partially dissected pellet showing mammalian prey and one partially dissected pellet showing avian prey. All have been treated with casting acrylic to assure quality and many years of use. Display size is 6 1/2" x 8 1/2"

RM04 $31.95

Blank Display Riker Mount
Here’s a chance for students and teachers to create professional looking scientific displays of their own. Mounts related to owl pellet projects are only one of many possibilities. Well-constructed of heavy cardboard, and filled with white polyester padding which supports even fragile specimens safely against the glass top Add displays of various other biological, mineral, and man-made items; the potentials are unlimited! 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 11/16
P40 $12.20

Barn Owl Nest Box

Own the very same nest box favored by professional owl pellet collectors. This practical, simple, no-frills box will provide safe housing for nesting owls and year round shelter from predators and the elements. May be installed in barns, silos, trees or on a post. Let a family of these superbly adapted hunters help control your rodents the natural way! (A perch is not recommended as it allows predators a staging area to harass young owls inside.)

Dimensions: 16" x 16" x 24" tall.
6" diameter entry hole.
Made of unfinished 1/2" CDX plywood.
Galvanized screw and cleat construction.
Shipped flat, assembly requires just a cordless drill, instructions and screws include.
Bottom slot allows the owl to kick out debris.
May be mounted with screws, wire or rope.

Attention Farmers: For maximum rodent control 1 box per 10 acres should provide adequate habitat for a healthy populations.

Please keep in mind barn owl densities will vary greatly with rodent populations and terrain, so this figure will vary. We can tell you is some of the highest barn owl densities recorded are on palm plantations in Malaysia, where densities reached one pair of owls per 12 acres.

The lack of nesting sites is the number one limiting factor of barn owl populations in the wild. Barn owls are not territorial and will share hunting habitat, but they will defend nesting sites.

Learn more about owl habitat.
P21 $44.95