鸡肉是中国人餐桌上最常见的食材之一，其中，乌鸡因营养价值高于普通鸡肉，有很好的滋补功效而备受欢迎，被称为“舌尖上的黑色传说”。
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，乌鸡却成为了一种新潮宠物。
图源：Aaron Chong
据Vice网站报道，除了遛猫遛狗，新加坡年轻人最近还流行遛乌鸡。当钟亚伦（音译）和妹妹带着他们的新宠——乌鸡在街区散步时，路人经常会把毛茸茸的乌鸡误看成小狗。
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.
身在新加坡的亚伦和妹妹安吉丽带着他们的宠物在他们居住的社区附近散步时，路人经常把把乌鸡误认为小狗，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。
图源：Ins
“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.”
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。它们的动物魅力爆棚，和它们在一起很开心。”
亚伦和妹妹之所以选择如此另类的宠物，都是被乌鸡可爱的外表所吸引。如今他们家四个兄弟姐妹人手一只宠物乌鸡，一起成为快乐养鸡人。
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岁的亚伦和13岁的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。他们现在已经养了四只乌鸡，并为此感到骄傲。
图源：Ins
【科普小知识】
乌鸡，又称乌骨鸡，英文翻译为“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. 乌鸡的羽毛蓬松，皮肤呈黑色或淡蓝色，辨识度颇高。因其滋补功效，长期以来在中餐中被用于药膳汤中。
乌鸡内含丰富的蛋白质，B族维生素等18种氨基酸和18种微量元素，其中烟酸、维生素E、磷、铁、钾、钠的含量均高于普通鸡肉，胆固醇和脂肪含量却很低，是营养价值极高的滋补品。
乌鸡变身网红萌宠
乌鸡的羽毛长到会遮住眼睛和整个脸部，这样呆萌憨憨的外表俘获了不少养鸡人的心。过去的一年里，乌鸡似乎已经成为新加坡最流行的宠物。
在欧美也有不少人把乌鸡当宠物，就连卡戴珊家族的金小妹凯莉也养过一只叫艾迪的乌鸡。
从社交媒体上涌现的各种关于宠物乌鸡的照片就可以看出它们的受欢迎程度。
“主人，我是你的小可爱吗？”
稍微装扮一下，就是整条街最美的小乌鸡~
变身小兔子：
“三个蝴蝶结更能衬托出我的美貌”
“Blingbling的小裙子才配得上本公主”
“欢迎来到我的生日派对”
超豪华鸡窝，你酸了吗？
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岁的谭诺尔（音译）是新加坡科技设计大学学生，他早就开始养宠物乌鸡了。谭说，大约四年前，他初次开始养鸡时，当地的宠物鸡主人脸书社群“Backyard Chickens Singapore”只有五六百人。此后，这个社群已经发展到3000多名成员，其中许多人是养乌鸡的。
现在，谭诺尔拥有10只乌鸡，并且已经成为新加坡养鸡界最杰出的养鸡人之一。谈到养鸡的原因，他说，对乌鸡的喜爱是一见钟情，当他在朋友家第一次看到乌鸡时，立即就被它们可爱的外表迷住了。
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.
谭诺尔和人合伙开办了一家宠物鸡用品公司以及一家本地的小鸡收容所“Chicken Adoption Rescue SG”；这个收容所是去年新加坡因新冠疫情封城时成立的，自那以来，他们已经在新加坡各地救助了近200只鸡。
社交隔离催生宠物热潮
据Vice报道，疫情期间的社交隔离是最近乌鸡宠物热潮的主要原因。随着越来越多的人在家办公，他们的社交生活变少了，而宠物也就成为了他们对抗孤独感的家庭伴侣。
图源：Ins
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，宠物似乎成为了受欢迎的家庭伴侣，帮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 the plant 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，而植物生长出来的果实可以喂鸡。
运动按摩治疗师Gloria Sharp虽然是第一次养鸡，但她表示自己得到了新加坡养鸡者社区的大力支持。
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.
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。乌骨鸡的寿命约为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, they’re 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。
如果你正在饲养宠物，或者有此打算，无论他们是小猫、小狗、小乌龟，或是一只小鸡，请记住养宠不抛弃！
来源：Vice，Instagram
编辑：董静