Western Barn Owl – Owls in Towels https://owlsintowels.org/ Sun, 15 Mar 2026 01:57:15 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.2 https://owlsintowels.org/content/media/tBNh7to.png Western Barn Owl – Owls in Towels https://owlsintowels.org/ 32 32 How to Burrito an Owl https://owlsintowels.org/how-to-burrito-an-owl/ https://owlsintowels.org/how-to-burrito-an-owl/#respond Sat, 14 Mar 2026 23:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=3701 An exemplary owl burrito a.k.a. owlrito a.k.a. burritowl. A chocolate brown towel wraps this Barn Owl, forming a tight, upright cylinder. The owl's head, a half sphere dome, protrudes above the hem like a fluffy R2-D2. His eyes are closed, forming a V-shaped crevice in the feathers of his heart-shaped facial disc. The rehabilitator behind -- wearing a black long-sleeve top baring a white clinic logo on the chest -- holds the column of owl the way someone might hold an expensive camera, one hand on the side, and one below.

Wrapping owls like burritos helps keep them motionless so they can be more easily be examined, treated, fed, and medicated by a wildlife carer.

See How to Wrap an Owl for a detailed step-by-step procedure:

A grid of photos 3 by 3 showing the steps to wrap an owl in a towel. It starts with our model Barn Owl face-down, legs straight on a flat folded towel on a tabletop, and ends with the rehabilitator sitting on a stool with a perfect burritowl wedged securely between their knees. The benefit of this procedure is the rehabber now has both hands free to administer fluids, food, and medication.

Source: How to towel-wrap an owl for single handed re-hydration or force-feeding – LEAFLET No 51 [PDF] by Barn Owl Trust, published 16 Dec 2014

located in Ashburton, UK 🇬🇧
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A big thank you to the The Barn Owl Trust for authoring the above guide. See their further resources on owl care, including:

Link to donate to Barn Owl Trust for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Tyto albaWestern Barn OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/how-to-burrito-an-owl/feed/ 0 Hungarian Bath Owl https://owlsintowels.org/hungarian-bath-owl/ https://owlsintowels.org/hungarian-bath-owl/#respond Sun, 20 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=2001 Eyes half-closed and plumage soaked, this Hungarian Barn Owl (not a particular subspecies by the way, but rather a Barn Owl that happens to hail from Hungary) is wrapped in a black cotton T-shirt. The owl's brown and tan feathers are drying from a soapy bath to remove fat and oil; the fallout of an unfortunate encounter with -- and incredibly fortunate rescue from -- a tub of machine grease.

Original post – 29 Mar 2020
by Madármentő Állomás Mályi – Bird Rescue
located in Mályi, Hungary
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Original text:

Gépzsírba esett a gyöngybagoly!

Most érkezett ez a szerencsétlen gyöngybagoly Visontáról.
Bele esett a gépzsírba és szó szerint nyakig zsíros az egész madár. Ragad minden porcikája, és nagyon el van gyengülve. Megkezdtük a teljes tollazat tisztítását egy langyos samponos fürdőn már átesett. Valamennyire sikerült feloldani a rengeteg zsírt, de több lépcsőben kell majd a tollazatát megtisztítani. Szurkoljatok neki nagyon ráfér szegénykére.

Hungarian to English translation:

The barn owl fell into machine grease!

This unfortunate barn owl has just arrived from Visonta.
It fell into machine grease and the whole bird is literally up to its neck in grease. Every part of it is sticky and it is very weak. We have started cleaning its entire plumage, it has already undergone a lukewarm shampoo bath. We have managed to dissolve a lot of grease to some extent, but its plumage will have to be cleaned in several stages. Please give him support, he really needs it, poor thing.

An unfortunate encounter with machine grease meant rescuers had to clean this Barn Owl in many stages
The heavy sticky matting of feathers from the machine grease was difficult for the rescuers to remove and required many stages of cleaning

Update 1 – 2 Apr 2020

Túl van a sokadik toll kezelésen a zsírba esett gyöngybagoly.
Amikor beérkezett a madár egy darab zsír tömb volt, ragadt mindene és félő volt, hogy felszívódott a bőrén keresztül is.

Többszöri toll kezelésre volt szüksége és sikerült majdnem teljesen kitisztítani a tollazatát. A mai napon megkezdtük a teljes tollazat rekonstrukcióját. Minden egyes toll külön-külön takarításra került, elkezdtük helyre állítani a finomszerkezetes részeket és zártuk a horgocskákat a cimpákkal. Szerencsére eszik magától és képes a repülésre is. Idő kell még amíg sikerül a teljes tisztítás és visszaállítás. Nem sok esélyt adtunk, hogy ebből az állapotból sikerül bármi pozitívumot is elérni, de mivel együttműködő volt így nagyon jó esélyekkel el tudjuk majd engedni.

Translation:

The barn owl that fell into the fat has had its umpteenth feather treatment.
When the bird arrived, it was a lump of fat, everything was stuck to it and it was feared that it had been absorbed through its skin.

It needed several feather treatments and we managed to clean its plumage almost completely. Today we started reconstructing the entire plumage. Each feather was cleaned separately, we started to restore the fine structural parts and closed the hooks with the pins. Fortunately, it eats on its own and is also able to fly. It still takes time to completely clean and restore it. We did not give it much chance of achieving anything positive from this condition, but since it was cooperative, there is a very good chance that we will be able to release it.

Update 2 – 4 Apr 2020

A zsírba esett gyöngybagoly is vissza kapta a szabadságát. Gyűrűzése után a megtalálás helyétől nem messze vissza adtuk a szabadságát. 🙂

Translation:

The barn owl that fell into the fat also got its freedom back. After banding it, we returned it to its freedom not far from where it was found. 🙂

Link to donate to Madármentő Állomás Mályi – Bird Rescue for those willing and able.

xo owlsintowels

💛🦉

SpeciesCommon NameMore info
Tyto albaWestern Barn OwlWiki link
]]> https://owlsintowels.org/hungarian-bath-owl/feed/ 0 Barn Owl Rescued from Barn Ouch https://owlsintowels.org/barn-owl-rescued-from-barn-ouch/ https://owlsintowels.org/barn-owl-rescued-from-barn-ouch/#respond Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:53 +0000 https://owlsintowels.org/?p=427

Original post – 29 Jan 2023

by Chintimini Wildlife Center, Corvallis, Oregon

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Some wildlife heroes discovered this Barn Owl No.23-29 in a very tricky situation. His foot was trapped on a Barn and was unable to free himself. Fortunately, an Oregon State Police Trooper responded to the call to help with this rescue mission.

Once the Barn Owl was retrieved and brought to our wildlife hospital, our trained staff determined that the right leg received extensive damage. Upon examination, the tissue is bruised with deep puncture wounds. We have begun administering physical therapy three times a day to aid in keeping the tendons loose, prescribing antibiotics, pain medication, and anti-inflammatories.

We anticipate some skin will die and slough off and our Staff Veterinarian will perform a skin graft which is where healthy skin is removed from an unaffected area of the body and used to cover lost or damaged skin.

With a guarded prognosis, we will continue to provide critical care for patient No.23-29. The journey ahead will be long and extensive with a projected time in care of about 8 weeks. Thank you to the wildlife heroes who assisted in giving this Barn Owl a second chance.


💛🦉

xo owlsintowels

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