Silkies Become Trendy Pets Abroad乌鸡在国外成为新潮宠物

鸡肉是中国人餐桌上最常见的食材之一，具有很好的滋补功效。用乌鸡煲汤、做菜我们熟悉，但是把乌鸡当宠物养还是比较少见。但如今在国外，乌鸡却成了一种新潮宠物。

When Aaron Chong and his sister Angelique take their offbeat pet out for walks around their neighborhood in Singapore， they receive friendly comments from strangers who mistake it for a small dog. Then， intrigued stares ensue when people realize that it isnt a furry dog but an ultra fluffy chicken. For the siblings though， theyre almost the same thing.

身在新加坡的亚伦和妹妹安吉丽带着他们另类的宠物在他们居住的社区附近散步时，路人经常把他们的宠物误认为小狗，然后送上赞美。当人们发现这不是一只毛茸茸的狗狗，而是一只毛茸茸的鸡时，好奇的目光随之而来。不过，对于这对兄妹来说，两者没什么差别。

“I think， generally， they are very well-natured and easy to take care of， and they bond quite well with humans，” said Aaron of his pet Silkie chickens. “They have a lot of charisma， and its enjoyable to be around them.”

谈到宠物乌鸡，亚伦说：“我认为它们一般都性格温顺，容易照顾，也很亲近人类。它们的魅力爆棚，和它们在一起很开心。”

Aaron and Angelique， first got their Silkie chickens， after watching tons of farm videos on YouTube featuring the fluffy pets. They are now the proud owners of four Silkies.

亚伦和安吉丽在油管上观看了大量在农场拍摄的关于乌鸡的视频后，第一次拥有了自己的乌鸡。他们已经养了四只乌鸡，并为此感到骄傲。

With more people working from home and having their social lives stripped down to a fraction of what it used to be， pets appeared to be attractive home companions to combat COVID loneliness.

随着越来越多的人在家办公，社交生活大幅缩减，宠物似乎成了受欢迎的家庭伴侣，幫助人们抵御新冠疫情带来的孤独感。

Ng， who works in the pet food industry， saw chicken keeping as a good way to educate his children about pet nutrition and ecosystems. For example， he demonstrated to his children how chicken manure can be used as fertilizer， while fruits grown from plants can then be fed to the chicken.

从事宠物食品行业的Ng认为，养鸡是教育孩子宠物营养和生态系统的好方式。例如，他向自己的孩子们演示了如何将鸡粪用作肥料，而植物结的果实可以喂鸡。

From how to handle roosters crowing to common illnesses like bumblefoot， Silkie owners often discuss and share tips for raising Silkies in online community groups. Experienced chicken owners are also generous in guiding newbies who are dealing with chicken-related issues.

从如何处理公鸡的啼叫到常见的疾病，比如鸡趾瘤症，乌鸡的主人经常在网络论坛上讨论和分享饲养乌鸡的技巧。经验丰富的养鸡人也慷慨地指导新手处理与鸡有关的问题。

Like other pets， Silkie chickens are a long-term commitment that many， enchanted by their fluffiness， may forget. With a life span of about nine years， Silkie chickens come with quirks and responsibilities that some may not be ready for.

和养其他宠物一样，养乌鸡也是一种长期的承诺。许多人被它们毛茸茸的样子吸引，可能会忘记这点。乌鸡的寿命约为9年，有些人可能还没有准备好接受乌鸡的怪癖和饲养的责任。

Having long been domesticated as ornamental pets， Silkies are prone to sickness if not taken care of properly. If abandoned recklessly， theyre basically defenseless against natural elements and predators like cats， snakes， and monkeys.

由于长期被当作观赏性宠物驯养，如果不加以妥善照顾，乌鸡很容易生病。如果随意遗弃，它们基本上无法抵御自然因素和天敌，如猫、蛇和猴子。

Word Bank

intrigued /?n'tri?ɡd/ adj. 着迷；很感兴趣；好奇

fluffly /'fl?fi/ adj. 绒毛般的；覆有绒毛的

newbie /'nju?bi/ n.（尤指使用电脑的）新手

enchant /?n't?ɑ?nt/ v. 使着迷；使陶醉

She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her.

domesticate /d?'mest?ke?t/ v. 驯养，驯化（动物）

We domesticated the dog to help us with hunting.

recklessly /'rekl?sl?/ adv. 鲁莽地；不计后果地

predator /'pred?t?（r）/ n. 捕食性动物