Owls are carnivores and eat only meat. You have to feed them
prey animals such as mice and rats, large grasshoppers and chicks. Don't feed
them only day-old chicks, because then they lack certain minerals and vitamins.
There are special owl feed sausages for sale, but most
animals prefer mice. You can buy prey animals both alive and dead -mostly
frozen. Preferably let the owls get used to dead prey. Thaw frozen prey a few
hours in advance and feed them at room temperature.
Owls do not have a crop like many other birds, but they do
have an elastic gullet, which allows them to swallow large pieces of food at
once. The indigestible parts of the prey, such as legs, teeth and fur, are
vomited out again after a while in the form of a vomit ball.
It is important to feed the owl at dusk, in the early
evening and possibly again at midnight or early in the morning. Do not disturb
the animals during the day as much as possible.