雞肉是中國(guó)人餐桌上最常見(jiàn)的食材之一，其中，烏雞因營(yíng)養(yǎng)價(jià)值高于普通雞肉，有很好的滋補(bǔ)功效而備受歡迎，被稱為“舌尖上的黑色傳說(shuō)”。

用烏雞煲湯、做菜我們熟悉，但是把烏雞當(dāng)寵物養(yǎng)還是比較少見(jiàn)。但如今在國(guó)外，烏雞卻成為了一種新潮寵物。

據(jù)Vice網(wǎng)站報(bào)道，除了遛貓遛狗，新加坡年輕人最近還流行遛烏雞。當(dāng)鐘亞倫（音譯）和妹妹帶著他們的新寵——烏雞在街區(qū)散步時(shí)，路人經(jīng)常會(huì)把毛茸茸的烏雞誤看成小狗。

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 isn’t a furry dog but an ultra fluffy chicken. For the siblings though, they’re almost the same thing.
身在新加坡的亞倫和妹妹安吉麗帶著他們的寵物在他們居住的社區(qū)附近散步時(shí)，路人經(jīng)常把把烏雞誤認(rèn)為小狗，然后送上贊美。當(dāng)人們發(fā)現(xiàn)這不是一只毛茸茸的狗狗，而是一只毛茸茸的雞時(shí)，好奇的目光隨之而來(lái)。不過(guò)，對(duì)于這對(duì)兄妹來(lái)說(shuō)，兩者沒(méi)什么差別。

“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 nonhuman charisma, and it's enjoyable to be around them.”
談到寵物烏雞，亞倫說(shuō)：“我認(rèn)為它們一般都性格溫順，容易照顧，也很親近人類。它們的動(dòng)物魅力爆棚，和它們?cè)谝黄鸷荛_(kāi)心?！?/p>

亞倫和妹妹之所以選擇如此另類的寵物，都是被烏雞可愛(ài)的外表所吸引。如今他們家四個(gè)兄弟姐妹人手一只寵物烏雞，一起成為快樂(lè)養(yǎng)雞人。

Aaron, 24, and Angelique, 13, first got their Silkie chickens in November last year, after watching tons of farm videos on YouTube featuring the fluffy pets. They are now the proud owners of four Silkies.
去年11月，24歲的亞倫和13歲的安吉麗在油管上觀看了大量在農(nóng)場(chǎng)拍攝的關(guān)于烏雞的視頻后，第一次擁有了自己的烏雞。他們現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)養(yǎng)了四只烏雞，并為此感到驕傲。

【科普小知識(shí)】

烏雞，又稱烏骨雞，英文翻譯為“silkie chicken”。

Silkie chickens are instantly recognizable by their fluffy feathers and black or bluish skin. Also known as “black bone chicken” in Chinese cuisine, Silkies have long been used in herbal soup due to their nourishing properties.
烏雞的羽毛蓬松，皮膚呈黑色或淡藍(lán)色，辨識(shí)度頗高。因其滋補(bǔ)功效，長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)在中餐中被用于藥膳湯中。

烏雞內(nèi)含豐富的蛋白質(zhì)，B族維生素等18種氨基酸和18種微量元素，其中煙酸、維生素E、磷、鐵、鉀、鈉的含量均高于普通雞肉，膽固醇和脂肪含量卻很低，是營(yíng)養(yǎng)價(jià)值極高的滋補(bǔ)品。

烏雞變身網(wǎng)紅萌寵

烏雞的羽毛長(zhǎng)到會(huì)遮住眼睛和整個(gè)臉部，這樣呆萌憨憨的外表俘獲了不少養(yǎng)雞人的心。過(guò)去的一年里，烏雞似乎已經(jīng)成為新加坡最流行的寵物。

在歐美也有不少人把烏雞當(dāng)寵物，就連卡戴珊家族的金小妹凱莉也養(yǎng)過(guò)一只叫艾迪的烏雞。

從社交媒體上涌現(xiàn)的各種關(guān)于寵物烏雞的照片就可以看出它們的受歡迎程度。

“主人，我是你的小可愛(ài)嗎？”

稍微裝扮一下，就是整條街最美的小烏雞~

變身小兔子：

“三個(gè)蝴蝶結(jié)更能襯托出我的美貌”

“Blingbling的小裙子才配得上本公主”

“歡迎來(lái)到我的生日派對(duì)”

超豪華雞窩，你酸了嗎？

Noel Tan, a 23-year-old student at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, was a Silkie chicken owner early on. When he first started raising chickens about four years ago, the Facebook community group for local chicken owners, Backyard Chickens Singapore, only had 500 to 600 members, he recalled. The group has since grown to comprise over 3,000 members, many of them Silkie owners.
23歲的譚諾爾（音譯）是新加坡科技設(shè)計(jì)大學(xué)學(xué)生，他早就開(kāi)始養(yǎng)寵物烏雞了。譚說(shuō)，大約四年前，他初次開(kāi)始養(yǎng)雞時(shí)，當(dāng)?shù)氐膶櫸镫u主人臉書(shū)社群“Backyard Chickens Singapore”只有五六百人。此后，這個(gè)社群已經(jīng)發(fā)展到3000多名成員，其中許多人是養(yǎng)烏雞的。

現(xiàn)在，譚諾爾擁有10只烏雞，并且已經(jīng)成為新加坡養(yǎng)雞界最杰出的養(yǎng)雞人之一。談到養(yǎng)雞的原因，他說(shuō)，對(duì)烏雞的喜愛(ài)是一見(jiàn)鐘情，當(dāng)他在朋友家第一次看到烏雞時(shí)，立即就被它們可愛(ài)的外表迷住了。

He co-founded a chicken supplies company as well as Chicken Adoption Rescue SG, a local chicken shelter; since the shelter was set up last year, during Singapore’s COVID lockdown, Tan said his team has rescued nearly 200 chickens around Singapore.
譚諾爾和人合伙開(kāi)辦了一家寵物雞用品公司以及一家本地的小雞收容所“Chicken Adoption Rescue SG”；這個(gè)收容所是去年新加坡因新冠疫情封城時(shí)成立的，自那以來(lái)，他們已經(jīng)在新加坡各地救助了近200只雞。

社交隔離催生寵物熱潮

據(jù)Vice報(bào)道，疫情期間的社交隔離是最近烏雞寵物熱潮的主要原因。隨著越來(lái)越多的人在家辦公，他們的社交生活變少了，而寵物也就成為了他們對(duì)抗孤獨(dú)感的家庭伴侶。

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.
隨著越來(lái)越多的人在家辦公，社交生活大幅縮減，寵物似乎成為了受歡迎的家庭伴侶，幫助人們抵御新冠疫情帶來(lái)的孤獨(dú)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 the plant can then be fed to the chicken.
從事寵物食品行業(yè)的Ng認(rèn)為，養(yǎng)雞是教育孩子寵物營(yíng)養(yǎng)和生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的好方式。例如，他向自己的孩子們演示了如何將雞糞用作肥料，而植物生長(zhǎng)出來(lái)的果實(shí)可以喂雞。

運(yùn)動(dòng)按摩治療師Gloria Sharp雖然是第一次養(yǎng)雞，但她表示自己得到了新加坡養(yǎng)雞者社區(qū)的大力支持。

From how to handle roosters’ crowing to common ailments 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.
從如何處理公雞的啼叫到常見(jiàn)的疾病，比如雞趾瘤癥，烏雞的主人經(jīng)常在網(wǎng)絡(luò)論壇上討論和分享飼養(yǎng)烏雞的技巧。經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的養(yǎng)雞人也慷慨地指導(dǎo)新手處理與雞有關(guān)的問(wèn)題。

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.
和養(yǎng)其他寵物一樣，養(yǎng)烏雞也是一種長(zhǎng)期的承諾。許多人被它們毛茸茸的樣子吸引，可能會(huì)忘記這點(diǎn)。烏骨雞的壽命約為9年，有些人可能還沒(méi)有準(zhǔn)備好接受烏雞的怪癖和飼養(yǎng)的責(zé)任。

Having long been domesticated as ornamental pets, Silkies are prone to sickness if not taken care of properly. If abandoned recklessly, they’re basically defenseless against natural elements and predators like cats, snakes, and monkeys.
由于長(zhǎng)期被當(dāng)作觀賞性寵物馴養(yǎng)，如果不加以妥善照顧，烏雞很容易生病。如果隨意遺棄，它們基本上無(wú)法抵御自然因素和天敵，如貓、蛇和猴子。

如果你正在飼養(yǎng)寵物，或者有此打算，無(wú)論他們是小貓、小狗、小烏龜，或是一只小雞，請(qǐng)記住養(yǎng)寵不拋棄！

來(lái)源：Vice，Instagram
編輯：董靜