This owl needs open areas with cavities for nesting, like natural tree cavities or human-made structures such as church steeples, barns, abandoned buildings, or even nesting boxes. In winter, Barn Owls sometimes roost in dense conifer trees. Adults rarely live beyond 3-4 years and there is a high mortality rate in the first year of life. Barn Owls mate for life and are sexually mature at one year of age. Because they have such a short lifespan, they only breed once or twice. An average of 4-6 eggs are laid every other day and the female incubates them for 30-34 days. Hatching happens in the same order the eggs were laid, and in times of scarce food, the older and stronger young have a better chance of survival. Both parents feed the young for about 2 months, but the adult male does most of the hunting and feeding.