Bella Nera Farm

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Bella Nera Farm I breed silkies/satins - Mottled, lavender, dun chocolate, laced, mille, etc. NPIP/AI clean. NJ
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Merry Christmas! 🎄
25/12/2024

Merry Christmas! 🎄

PSA ...Today is really cold in many parts of the country.This is a reminder that your birds need hydration just as much ...
23/12/2024

PSA ...Today is really cold in many parts of the country.

This is a reminder that your birds need hydration just as much now as in the summer!

I use jugs of warm water with hydro hen poured over crumble or mini pellets to make a soupy mash.

They'll get some water dense greens and fruit this afternoon as well.

REMINDER!!! We have to take care of ourselves before we take care of others...family and animals, so drink up! We need to stay hydrated as well!

Bella Bucket Nutritional Post #5Raspberry leaf - Raspberry leaves are high in antioxidants...try a cup of tea, the leav...
23/12/2024

Bella Bucket Nutritional Post #5

Raspberry leaf - Raspberry leaves are high in antioxidants...try a cup of tea, the leaves smell wonderful! 🍵

Raspberry leaf contains Vitamin A which helps with eyesight! They need to be able to see their treats! And see predators!

Vitamin A strengthens the immune system and may help them fight infection.

Vitamin A may also help with stress related depression...another reason to try a cup of Raspberry leaf tea! 🍵

Vitamin C - this helps with stronger egg shells.

Vitamin C is also great for preventing heat stress and reducing liver damage caused by heat stress.
It's also great for helping with a healthy immune system which helps to prevent diseases.

Vitamin E - we all know this helps to prevent wry neck in conjunction with selenium.
Vitamin E also helps to maintain fertility in birds as they age and helps with hatching viable and hearty chicks.
Vitamin E is also great for heat stress and for an overall healthy immune system

Potassium - helps to regulate electrolytes and fluids in cells which is important for supporting heart beat, muscle function and nerve responses.

Rose hips - they are another immune system booster because they're an antioxidant (Vitamin C) and have anti-inflammatory properties which can help provide resistance to diseases. Rose hips are often included in herbal teas for humans as well!

Some studies show that they can help prevent joint issues or inflammation.

You can feed them fresh or dried but without the seeds and in moderation. They can improve egg quality as far as yolk color and lipid/fat content.

Suet Nuggets - these are from Walmart and mixed with meal worms. They're great as a high fat and protein treat on cold days

Oregano - Oregano is so easy to grow and dry or you can buy large bottles in the spice section of supermarkets

Oregano can strengthen the immune system and help prevent infections from salmonella, e.coli and possibly diseases like avian flu and infectious bronchitis. Oregano contains thymol which can have antimicrobial properties in a chicken's gut.

An interesting study shows that Oregano can help neutralize aflatoxins that are so prevalent in corn and soy. Corn and soy are major components of poultry feed!

Oregano also contains vitamins A, C and K as well as the minerals calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron.

Banana chips - my chickens do not like fresh/raw bananas, so I either slice them for my food dehydrator or buy natural, no sugar dried chips. I do crumble these up before they get blended into my feed. If you can only find a version with added sugar, it's ok, everything in moderation is fine 🙂

Banana chips are a treat but they are rich in fiber which helps with digestion. They also contain vitamins A, B6/pyridoxine (good for immune system and nervous system health) and C.

Yellow split peas - green are the same nutritionally. They're high in protein and fiber and contain vitamins and minerals essential to chicken health.

They're a high energy source in the winter but should be fed in moderation. If you're ambitious...sprout them for a cool and water dense treat in the summer!

Sunflower hearts - these are also packed with protein and good fats. These are a little easier for silkies or other bantams to eat, but if you're feeding black oil sunflower seeds, make sure you offer grit to help the digestion process.

The main reason I include them is that they're high in vitamin E and selenium, so I never have birds with wry neck.

They're also high in vitamin B and minerals phosphorus and magnesium. These all promote feather growth, strong muscles, egg production and overall good health.

I love the old pics that pop up on my phone. This girl was hatched 4️⃣!!! years ago. I've been obsessed with mottleds f...
21/12/2024

I love the old pics that pop up on my phone. This girl was hatched 4️⃣!!! years ago. I've been obsessed with mottleds for a LONG time 🖤🤍🖤

I'm excited for my mauve splash this spring...but why do they have to be messy head dunkers...and lay in the warm mash😬
20/12/2024

I'm excited for my mauve splash this spring...but why do they have to be messy head dunkers...and lay in the warm mash😬

🧡🤍🖤I'm adding a lot of extra bedding today in preparation for the extreme cold this weekend and this cutie caught my eye...
19/12/2024

🧡🤍🖤I'm adding a lot of extra bedding today in preparation for the extreme cold this weekend and this cutie caught my eye. Mille silkie feathered showgirl pullet 🧡🤍🖤

I love it when people share pics of birds hatched from my eggs. Look at this black mottled frizzled satin beauty! 🖤🤍🖤 T...
18/12/2024

I love it when people share pics of birds hatched from my eggs. Look at this black mottled frizzled satin beauty! 🖤🤍🖤 Type is everyting!! 🖤🤍🖤 Plus those beautiful hydrangeas in the background!

🤎🤍🤎I'm all about the hard breeding work! I didn't like the poor foot feathering on my chocolate mottleds, so I went bac...
17/12/2024

🤎🤍🤎I'm all about the hard breeding work! I didn't like the poor foot feathering on my chocolate mottleds, so I went backwards and made some splits. The year plus and 2 generations have paid off...look at the nice foot feathering AND dark skin!! Nice toe spacing too :)🤎🤍🤎

16/12/2024

Juvenile video for smiles on this rainy and gray day

Deleting old pics and I found this cool one
15/12/2024

Deleting old pics and I found this cool one

Sweet Mimi is laying and I can't wait for March to start incubating and getting more dark skinned mottleds!
14/12/2024

Sweet Mimi is laying and I can't wait for March to start incubating and getting more dark skinned mottleds!

I always check on the buggy horses on my feed mill trips in Lancaster County and I always take bottles of water and car...
12/12/2024

I always check on the buggy horses on my feed mill trips in Lancaster County and I always take bottles of water and carrots🥕. These 2 beauties had kind owners that blanketed them on this cold day.
Look at that stunning gaited Dutch harness horse! He's a very tall boy at over 17 hands!

🖤💜🤍💜🖤Black mottled/lavender split mom x lavender roo created this cute guy
10/12/2024

🖤💜🤍💜🖤Black mottled/lavender split mom x lavender roo created this cute guy

Splash calico cockerels...so much variety! I'm only keeping one
09/12/2024

Splash calico cockerels...so much variety! I'm only keeping one

09/12/2024

Cleaning day video, 8-10 week olds

09/12/2024

Cleaning day video, 4 month olds

Bella Bucket Nutritional Post #4Dried marigold leaves - marigolds are so easy to grow and have so many health benefits ...
08/12/2024

Bella Bucket Nutritional Post #4

Dried marigold leaves - marigolds are so easy to grow and have so many health benefits for chickens. I harvest and dry the flowers separately. Before the first frost, I cut all the stalks and dry them for these leaves.

They help with a chicken's overall immune system, they're an antioxidant, they can enhance digestion, promote new skin growth, especially after a wound and even reduce inflammation.

Marigold tea is wonderful for humans too! It's usually from the flowers which I add into my mixes as well. See other posts.

Suet Nuggets - it's in the 20s here this week, so these are a high energy snack to help keep them warm. These nuggets were from Walmart.

Dried Dandelion leaves - these are full of calcium and help to promote nice hard eggshells. They also stimulate digestion and help to maintain a healthy body weight.

Some studies show that they improve the microbial balance in their stomachs by encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria. Kind of like probiotics for humans

Pull a few of those "obnoxious" weeds from your yard, rinse them well and float them in a shallow pan of cool water in the summer. They'll gobble them up.

Lavender - just like for humans, lavender is great as an anti anxiety/stress reliever, so it can help broody mommas. It's also good for respiratory issues and a great insect repellent. Feed it, put it in nesting boxes or in dust baths.

Raisins - again, these are just a snack, but with the cold week, I want to encourage eating and colorful treats help.

Wheat Germ in the middle - this comes ftom the wheat kernel (which is one of the grains underneath my toppings) and is high in vitamin E which is a critical nutrient for the prevention of wry neck.

Wheat germ can improve or maintain a nice healthy body weight as well because it's high in protein.

It's great for the immune system too and some studies show that it can help to inhibit avian influenza and Newcastle disease.

It can also help reduce levels of salmonella and e.coli in f***s, so your bedding and runs are microbiologically cleaner. Clean conditions help with good health!!

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭RIP my precious black and blue mottled d'uccles and my last spitzhauben. 9 cherished birds 😭A weasel got in the...
06/12/2024

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
RIP my precious black and blue mottled d'uccles and my last spitzhauben. 9 cherished birds 😭

A weasel got in their coop and massacred them, I can't get the vision out of my head and I'm devastated.

My love of mottled silkies and satins is probably due to these girls. If you've never had d'uccles, they're smaller than silkies, have even crazier feathered feet and adorable little muffs.

Their intelligence and friendliness makes them so special. They always come running for food, will jump up on an old trellis arch to sun themselves, follow me as I clean and will even fly up and over my head when they're playful. I always talked to them nonstop while feeding and cleaning.

The roos are always gentle and the girls put silkies to shame as broody mommas, they never abandon their eggs and they're incredible moms, even tidbitting to their chicks to show them food and water. I wish I had hatched more of them this year but they've always been just for my pleasure only, not to hatch and sell.

This pen of beauties was getting old, 2 were 8 to 9 years old, the oldest had turned white, her name was Spunky. The pics are kind of cool because they do fade as they molt and get older. I even had a beautiful frizzled girl that I created.

My Spitzie was my last one and she color bonded with the littles and kind of helped the rooster to make sure everyone came for treats or got in the coop at night. Spitzie loved to be held and was a shy but curios and interactive girl, as was her sister (she died of old age last year). I remember telling my npip tester a few years ago that she was one of my favorite birds.

When I had them in my barn one summer to keep cool, they would jump over my horse stall dividers to visit my other birds as I went stall to stall to feed and care for them. Exasperating but adorable in their curiosity and agility, but also their connection to me and wanting to follow me everywhere like tiny dogs.

I wish I had more pics to share but I dropped an old phone in a water bucket and lost so many pics. Plus, trying to put d'uccles in my flowers or on a fence post for a pic would just be a game to them and an opportunity for them to run around, have fun and make me chase them. Yes, these girls were always exuberant about any opportunity to have fun or do something new.

I can't imagine not having this sweet and special group of birds anymore. I'm just grateful that I was waiting until Sunday when it's warmer to add two juvenile houdans in with them and I didn't lose them too.

Please bear with me as I grieve, I'm taking this very hard. My birds are my children.

Finally, yes, the coop will be repaired, but I can't imagine putting birds there anytime soon as this was their huge playground and the memories will be too painful.

Additionally, many many traps of all types were set. This is a reminder to everyone, check your coops and runs for repairs and remember when it gets cold, that predators are trying extra hard to find warmth, food and water.

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