The long-standing bond between barn owls and farmers is an essential part of rural life.
Farmers, aware of the barn owls’ natural ability to control pests, began building specially designed nest boxes in their barns, combining traditional know-how and ecological knowledge.
This ancestral practice highlighted farmers’ respect for the balance of nature and their willingness to live alongside these predators, long before modern conservation initiatives became widespread.
Farmers used locally sourced materials like straw and wood to create these nests, carefully designing them to ensure the owls’ safety and comfort with adequate ventilation and drainage.
The nest boxes were placed in quiet, secluded areas such as rafters, corners and attics, providing ideal conditions for the owls to nest in harmony with the farm environment.
This tradition of building barn owl nest boxes has been passed down from generation to generation, becoming an important family tradition.
More than just a pest control tool, it represented a commitment to sustainable agriculture and a lasting partnership between man and nature. The preservation of this agricultural practice underlines the deep-rooted collaboration between man and the environment.