Baby Barn Owls: Adorably Awkward, Fluffy, and Surprisingly Fierce

With their fluffy down, bug-eyed stares, and dinosaur feet, baby barn owls look like creatures pulled straight from a fantasy film. 

But these real-life owlets are even more magical than they look. 

And we have some of our very own!

 

Meet the Baby Barn Owls of Ramona

At Ramona Barn Owls, we’ve spent the past ten years documenting the wild and wonderful lives of barn owls from our private rural property in West Ramona, California (nestled in sunny San Diego County). The warm weather and abundant prey make this a prime spot for owl families to thrive—and thrive they do.

Right now, our cameras are catching all the fluffy action: one feisty year-round female, three bonded pairs, a whole parliament of owlets, and even more eggs getting ready to hatch.

With nine cameras rolling 24/7, our livestream offers a front-row seat to owl parenting, sibling squabbles, baby barn owl snuggles, and plenty of fluffy chaos.

 

 

Let’s break it down by clutch.

2024 Owlets

River & Songbird

• Bingo
• Mia Marie
• Rain
• Harmony
• Scoop
• Champ
• Ace
• Brooke

Hunter & Cayenne

• Macan
• Napoleon
• Pamo
• Shiloh
• Ferdi

Cocoa & Puff (aka “The Crazies”)

• Cereal
• Pop Tart
• Pebbles
• Trix
• Captain Crunch
• Puffin
• Oatmeal

2025 Hatches

Duke & Songbird

• Dolly
• Prince
• Robin
• Freedom
• Cherry

 

How We Name Our Baby Barn Owls

Every owlet gets a name—but these aren’t random. Some are tiny tributes. Some are inside jokes. And some honor the brave little spirits inside these fluffy babies.

Here’s a peek behind the names (and the drama) of a few of our 2024–2025 babies.

1. Honoring Local Heroes

We believe in celebrating those who protect—not poison—the land. Every year, we name at least one clutch after a local winery doing things the right way: no rodent poison, just good grapes and good stewardship.

• Hunter & Cayenne’s owlet Pamo was named after Pamo Valley Winery, one of the local spots working toward poison-free pest control.
• Mia Marie, from River & Songbird’s clutch, is named for another nearby winery, Mia Marie Vineyards, where we actually did a rescue.

2. Names With a Wink (and a Bit of Sass)

Sometimes the names just… fit.

• Napoleon was shorter than his siblings but absolutely mighty. Like, tiny tyrant energy.
• Macan gets his name from his mom Cayenne, whose name is a nod to both the spice and the Porsche. Macan? Also a Porsche—and also spicy.
• Bingo was the first born in his clutch—so we said, “Bingo!”
• Rain arrived during a rainstorm. Nature named that one for us.
• Champ and Ace are part of our tradition of strong names for clutches with high survival risk (because as clutches grow, there’s a higher chance of not all of them getting enough food to survive)—sometimes the power of a name feels like protection.

3. The Musical Moms

Many of our owl moms are named after real-life women in music.

• Songbird is a nod to solo artist Ashley E. Norton, a musician who’s been part of several bands. It’s our small tribute to the many women songwriters who rarely get the spotlight.
• Her daughter, Harmony, keeps the melody going—literally.
• And in 2025, another of Songbird’s kids was named Dolly.

 

 

4. Cereal, Chaos, and the “Crazies”

You’ll notice a theme with Cocoa & Puff’s kids—Cereal names. That’s no accident. When Cocoa (the male) first met Puff (the female), he absolutely lost his fluffy mind. 

Like, literally started kickboxing her. Check out this short on YouTube if you don’t believe us!

We think it was nerves. Love at first squawk? Maybe. Or maybe… he was just coo coo for Cocoa Puffs.

Eventually, they calmed down and became wonderful parents. But that early chaos earned them the nickname “The Crazies.” And naturally, their kids followed with names like:

• Trix
• Captain Crunch
• Pop Tart
• Oatmeal
• Cereal (Yes, just plain Cereal.)
• And Puffin, who might just be the chillest cereal of the bunch.

 

 

5. Family Ties and Tiny Royals

• In 2025, Prince was born to Duke and Songbird. We couldn’t resist keeping it royal.
• Freedom hatched on Memorial Day—a heartfelt reminder of what the holiday stands for.
• Robin is named after our documentarian in North Carolina—tiny, fierce, and absolutely essential to the RBO family.
• Sadly, Freedom and Cherry didn’t make it. Like human babies, owlets sometimes face failure to thrive. It’s one of the hardest parts of this work.

6. The Personalities We See Every Year

Even without names, some baby owl personalities repeat like clockwork:

• One is always bold and reckless, the kamikaze jumper who tries to fly way too soon.
• Another is pampered, lying down to sleep (most stand!) while siblings hover protectively.
• And of course, there’s always one that just… gets away with everything.

We see them all. We love them all. And we hope you do too.

So… What Is a Baby Barn Owl, Anyway?

Now that you’ve met Ramona Barn Owls’ baby owlets—fluffy flappers, cereal boxers, royal rebels, and all—we’d love to share a bit about what barn owlets are like in general.

How many do they have? What do they eat? And why do they look like tiny ghosts with attitude?

Let’s dive into the weird, wonderful world of baby barn owls.

How Many Babies Do Barn Owls Have?

Barn owls typically lay 4 to 6 eggs per clutch, though some ambitious owl moms lay as many as 10 or more. But here’s the twist: they don’t lay them all at once. Eggs are laid every 1–3 days, and they hatch on a staggered schedule, too. So inside a single nest box, you might find a fluffy week-old chick nestled beside a pink, freshly hatched peanut.

This is called asynchronous hatching, and while it sounds whimsical, it can get dramatic. The older siblings usually get fed first (they’re bigger and louder), so the youngest often have to wait—or scream their little heads off to get noticed.

Newborn Baby Barn Owls

When newborn barn owlets first hatch, they’re blind, pink, and wobbly, like someone crossed a loofah with a jellybean. They’re completely dependent on their parents, who carefully tear up prey or regurgitate it into squishy little servings.

For the first week or so, the nest is relatively calm. Then… the raspy screeching begins. These tiny ghosts-in-training develop a signature haunted squeaky toy voice when they’re hungry—and they’re always hungry.

Around 10–14 days old, their eyes open. At about two weeks, feathers begin to poke through their downy coats. By the time they’re five weeks old, they’re stomping around the box like little feathered Frankensteins, flapping their stubby wings and trying to launch themselves into the air.

Owlet Growth Timeline: From Hatchling to Hunter

• Day 0: Owl hatchling. Eyes shut, soft white down, pink skin.
• Days 10–14: Eyes open, neck muscles strengthen, and the first attempts at screeching.
• Week 3: Pinfeathers start breaking through, and they begin “wingercizing” (that’s what we call it).
• Weeks 5–6: Flapping turns into hopping. Expect flail-flights and crash-landings.
• Weeks 7–8: By this time, a young barn owl is feathered and ready to fledge. They’ll start flying practice under mom and dad’s watchful eye.

 

 

What Do Baby Barn Owls Eat? (A Lot, Actually)

Owlets eat whatever their parents bring home—which is usually a smorgasbord of mice, voles, shrews, and the occasional small bird. Depending on age and size, a single baby barn owl can eat 2–4 rodents a night. Multiply that by 6+ siblings, and mom and dad have their talons full.

Prey is often stored in the nest (yes, it’s a little gross), and owlets either get chunks torn off for them or, if they’re older, swallow it whole—head first, of course. The tail is always last.

What to Do If You Find a Baby Barn Owl

First: Don’t panic. Fledglings often leave the nest before they’re perfect flyers.

Here’s what to do:

• If the owlet is alert and uninjured, observe from a distance unless it’s in danger on the ground (think: dogs, coyotes, street traffic, etc.).
• If it’s cold, bleeding, or in danger (or visibly injured) , gently place it in a box with air holes and contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator ASAP. It’s okay to touch the owlet—contrary to myth, parents will not reject it due to human scent.

 

 

How to Take Care of a Baby Owl (Spoiler: You Probably Shouldn’t)

Raising a baby owl requires specialized care, a diet of freshly killed prey, minimal human contact, and permits.

Why shouldn’t you try to raise one?

• It’s illegal to keep a wild owl without permits in most places. In the U.S. they are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
• They imprint easily—if raised by humans, they may not survive in the wild.
• They need fresh-killed prey, not hamburger meat or chicken nuggets.
• Even with the best intentions, humans often cause more harm than good.

Fun & Surprising Baby Owl Facts

• They don’t hoot—they hiss, screech, and click their beaks.
• Older siblings often hoard food (classic firstborn behavior).
• Owl chicks poop out of the nest to keep it clean (kind of genius).
• They swallow prey whole and later hawk up pellets of bone and fur like little goth furballs.

Watch Baby Barn Owls Grow Live

Want to witness the feathered chaos for yourself? Tune into the Ramona Barn Owls 24/7 livestream, where you can watch baby barn owls grow up in real time—from sleepy fluffballs to fierce little hunters.

And if you love what we do, support the mission by checking out our owl clothing line. Super comfy t-shirts, hoodies, joggers, and more you’ll want to wear all the time. All while helping fund:

• Wildlife rescues

• Poison-free pest control education

• And the gear it takes to keep our cameras running

Because when we protect owls, we protect the whole ecosystem they call home.