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Dissecting Owl Pellets
Our homeschool co-op started this month, and our first project was dissecting owl pellets. I did this with my oldest three kids, and it was fun to revisit this science activity with my youngest two. I’ll link where we got them below.
Owls do not have teeth and swallow their prey whole. They produce pellets because they cannot digest hard materials like fur, bones, feathers, and teeth
The undigested remnants move to the muscular stomach (called the gizzard), which compacts them into a tight oval pellet. The gizzard sends the pellet back up through the esophagus, and the owl regurgitates it through the mouth up to 12 hours later.
Inside an owl pellet, you will find the complete or partial skeletal remains of small mammals, though the exact species depends on what the owl hunted. They hunt a variety of animals, including small mammals, birds, insects, and aquatic life, depending on their size and local habitat.
The co-op students used an identification chart to determine what pieces they uncovered and which animal they came from. Most of them got voles, and one got two skulls!
Many brands sell them, but our co-op bought pellets from this company. We got the jumbo ones, one for each student. The whole project took about an hour, and they really enjoyed it! We would definitely do this again.
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