胡藝菡

More and more Americans are showing an interest in organic2 and locally-produced food. As the interest increases， raising chickens has been popular in some American cities. It may not be right for everyone， but the business seems to have a bright future.

越來(lái)越多的美國(guó)人對(duì)有機(jī)的以及本地生產(chǎn)的食物感興趣了。隨著興趣的增加，在美國(guó)一些城市，養(yǎng)雞也變得流行起來(lái)。家禽飼養(yǎng)未必適合每一個(gè)人，但是它似乎有著光明的前景。

“Look， we get three eggs this time.”

Collecting eggs is a daily pleasure for the Hurst family. Naomi Hurst says her family started to raise chickens in back of their home in Maryland a month ago.

“We have been dreaming to try having backyard chickens for a couple of years， but really just didnt have the time to build my own coop and look out where to buy chickens. And then we found Rent a Coop，” said Naomi Hurst.

“看，這次我們撿了三個(gè)雞蛋?！?/p>

撿雞蛋是赫斯特一家每天的樂(lè)趣。娜奧米·赫斯特說(shuō)，他們家從一個(gè)月前開(kāi)始在位于馬里蘭州的家中的后院養(yǎng)雞。

“多年來(lái)我們一直想試著在后院養(yǎng)雞，但是沒(méi)有足夠的時(shí)間去修雞舍，以及尋找買雞的地方。后來(lái)我們發(fā)現(xiàn)了Rent a Coop。”娜奧米·赫斯特說(shuō)。

Rent a Coop is a chicken rental business. Tyler Phillips began to run the company with a partner 18 months ago.

“It comes with a mobile coop on wheels， two egg laying hens， feed， bedding， water bowl， feeding bowl， and our 24-hour chicken hotline. You can call with any questions. The price is 185 dollars for four weeks，” said Phillips.

After the four weeks， customers can extend the rental agreement， return everything， or purchase the animals and supplies.

“We have on average about 12 to 15 chicken coop rentals per month. And since last year weve sold about 75 chicken coops with hens， so weve sold about 200 hens，” said Phillips.

Tyler Phillips designs and makes the coops. He says he wants to do as little damage as possible to the environment. “We always try to have as many recycled materials as possible. And I want the coops to be safe for kids， number one. I want the chickens to be comfortable and they can get close to the grass while being inside the coop. I want it to be easily movable， light weight，” he said.

Mr. Phillips says the chicken coop rental business came from his love of animals. He grew up on his parents farm near Washington suburbs.

Rent a Coop是一家租雞公司。泰勒·菲利普斯和合伙人于一年半之前創(chuàng)建了這家公司。

“這包括一個(gè)帶輪子的可以移動(dòng)的雞舍，兩只下蛋的母雞，飼料，雞窩，水盆，食盆，以及我們24小時(shí)的養(yǎng)雞熱線。你可以咨詢?nèi)魏螁?wèn)題。租四周的價(jià)格是185美元?！狈评账拐f(shuō)。 四周之后，顧客可以延長(zhǎng)租期，或者歸還所有東西，又或者買下這些雞和養(yǎng)雞的用品。

“我們平均每月會(huì)租出12到15個(gè)雞舍。從去年起，我們已經(jīng)賣出了75個(gè)帶母雞的雞舍，所以我們已經(jīng)賣出去了將近200只母雞?！狈评账拐f(shuō)。

泰勒·菲利普斯親自設(shè)計(jì)制作了這些雞舍。他說(shuō)，他希望盡可能減少對(duì)環(huán)境的破壞。他說(shuō)，“我們盡可能使用可回收材料。并且我希望雞舍對(duì)孩子們來(lái)說(shuō)是安全的，這是第一重要的。我希望雞住得舒服，即使它們?cè)陔u舍里，也能接觸到草。我還希望雞籠重量輕，便于移動(dòng)?！?/p>

菲利普斯說(shuō)，雞籠租賃業(yè)務(wù)源于他對(duì)動(dòng)物的喜愛(ài)。他是在華盛頓郊外父母的農(nóng)場(chǎng)里長(zhǎng)大的。

The Hursts hope their farm teaches their daughter to be caring and responsible.

“I dont think weve ever thanked where food comes from. But whenever we pick up the eggs we always say， ‘Thank you， ladies. Thats really something that it is hard to teach other than having an animal in your backyard that delivers food to you. So its been a great learning opportunity for my daughter too，” said Naomi Hurst.

赫斯特夫婦希望他們的農(nóng)場(chǎng)能教會(huì)女兒有愛(ài)心和責(zé)任心。

“我們以前都不曾對(duì)食物之源表示感激，但是每當(dāng)我們?cè)趽祀u蛋時(shí)，都會(huì)說(shuō)‘謝謝，母雞們。這點(diǎn)很難教，除非你家后院飼養(yǎng)著給你提供食物的動(dòng)物。所以對(duì)我女兒而言，這也是一個(gè)很好的學(xué)習(xí)機(jī)會(huì)?！蹦葕W米·赫斯特說(shuō)。

Some cities require people to have large pieces of land， if they want to raise farm animals. Others require an agreement with neighbors， limit the number of chickens， or， even ban the birds. Tyler Phillips expects that would change as interest in coops grows.

“I see cities around the D.C. area changing laws almost monthly and different cities will change the law to being pro-chicken. That is happening all around the United States，” he said.

He believes that there will be chicken coop rental businesses in most American cities within five years.

如果想要養(yǎng)動(dòng)物，有些城市要求人們有一塊較大的土地。有些城市則要求人們和鄰居們達(dá)成協(xié)議，限制雞的數(shù)量，或者更有甚者，禁止飼養(yǎng)禽類。

泰勒·菲利普斯希望隨著人們對(duì)雞舍的興趣增加，這種現(xiàn)狀能夠得以改變。

“我看到華盛頓周圍的有些城市幾乎每個(gè)月都在修改法律，不同的城市會(huì)修改法律允許養(yǎng)雞。這是美國(guó)正在發(fā)生的事?！彼f(shuō)。

他相信，在未來(lái)五年內(nèi)，美國(guó)大多數(shù)城市都會(huì)有雞舍租賃業(yè)務(wù)。

Notes：

1. coop [] n. （關(guān)家禽等的）籠子；欄舍

2. organic [] adj. 有機(jī)（體）的