Barn owls benefit significantly from targeted nest box provision by farmers and landowners, helping to offset the loss of natural nesting sites in old buildings and trees.
Barn owl nest box schemes provide direct welfare benefits by ensuring breeding birds have access to safe nest sites that protect eggs, chicks, and incubating females from weather and predators. Beyond providing nesting habitat, boxes placed on agricultural land contribute to population recovery by supporting high chick productivity in core range areas. The welfare-limiting factor for barn owls is increasingly rodenticide exposure rather than nest site availability — second-generation rodenticides accumulate in the prey chain and cause internal bleeding and death.