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.