My Life with Backyard Chickens

張玉鳳

Its been one month since my new little flock1 arrived， and weve had some unexpected excitement. I am now a proud chicken owner. Every morning I let my hens out of their little coop into a fenced-in area， where they spend their day foraging2 for food， sleeping in the grass， and flying up to their favorite point on the coops roof to watch the goings-on. By 9 p.m.， theyve marched into their home and nestled in for the night. All I do is shut the door， and the cycle starts again next morning.

我的小雞群來(lái)了一個(gè)月了，我們有一些意想不到的興奮的事。我現(xiàn)在是一個(gè)自豪的養(yǎng)雞人。每天早晨，我把小雞們從它們的小籠子里放出來(lái)，放到一個(gè)有柵欄圍起來(lái)的地方，在那里它們白天覓食，睡在草地上，飛到雞籠頂上最喜歡的位置，觀察那里發(fā)生的一切。到了晚上9點(diǎn)，它們已經(jīng)走回家里，舒舒服服地在那里過夜。我所要做的就是把門關(guān)上，第二天早上，又開始這樣一種循環(huán)。

Its only been a month since I got these hens， but I had waiting long for their arrival. The process began last fall when I asked town council to allow backyard chickens—a request that was met with great controversy3. Passionate4 speeches were given on both sides of the debate and many articles were published in the local paper， but finally approval5 was granted—a two-year pilot project of 5 hens and no roosters.

我剛拿到這些母雞才一個(gè)月，但對(duì)它們的到來(lái)期待已久。這個(gè)過程始于去年秋天，當(dāng)時(shí)我請(qǐng)求市議會(huì)允許后院養(yǎng)雞，這個(gè)請(qǐng)求引起了很大的爭(zhēng)議。辯論雙方都發(fā)表了熱情洋溢的演講，并在當(dāng)?shù)貓?bào)紙上發(fā)表了很多相關(guān)文章，但最終獲得了批準(zhǔn)——一個(gè)為期兩年的試點(diǎn)項(xiàng)目，5只母雞，沒有公雞。

I ordered my birds from a farmer in Kincardine， Ontario， who raises a rare heritage breed called Chantecler. These are a truly Canadian breed of chicken， developed by a monk6 in Quebec in the early 1900s who wanted a dual-purpose bird that would be highly resistant7 to cold.

我養(yǎng)的雞是從安大略金卡丁的一位農(nóng)民那里訂購(gòu)的，他養(yǎng)了一種稀有的傳統(tǒng)品種香特可蕾雞。這是一種真正的加拿大品種雞，由魁北克的一位僧侶在20世紀(jì)初發(fā)明，他想要一種能高度抵抗寒冷的兩用雞。

The Livestock Conservancy writes： “...the Chantecler is the first Canadian breed of chicken. Under the supervision8 of Chatelain， the monks of the Cistercian Abbey in Oka， Quebec， tried to create， ‘a(chǎn) fowl of vigorous9 and simple temperament10 that could resist the climatic conditions of Canada， a general purpose chicken. Although work began on this breed in 1908， it was not introduced to the public until 1918， and admitted to the American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection in 1921.”

畜牧管理局寫道：“……香特可蕾是加拿大第一個(gè)雞的品種。在查特拉因的監(jiān)督下，魁北克奧卡西多會(huì)修道院的僧侶們?cè)噲D創(chuàng)造出‘一種精力充沛、性情淳樸，能抵御加拿大的氣候條件，具有普通用途的雞。雖然這一品種的研究始于1908年，但它直到1918年才進(jìn)入公眾視野，并于1921年通過了美國(guó)家禽協(xié)會(huì)的‘完美標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。”

Chanteclers， Ive discovered， are quite shy. They keep their distance and resist being caught for daily hugging， much to my young sons chagrin11， but once held in his arms， they settle right down. We got them at 3 months of age， so they look like full-grown feathered hens， though not so big and not yet laying eggs. Hopefully， theyll start producing by September.

我發(fā)現(xiàn)香特可蕾雞很害羞。它們會(huì)保持距離，不讓人發(fā)現(xiàn)它們每天都在擁抱，這讓我年幼的兒子很懊惱，但一旦被抱在懷里，它們就會(huì)馬上安定下來(lái)。我們?cè)谒鼈內(nèi)齻€(gè)月大的時(shí)候就開始飼養(yǎng)它們，所以它們看起來(lái)像羽翼豐滿的母雞，雖然個(gè)兒不是很大，也還沒有下蛋。希望它們能在九月份開始下蛋。

The most amusing part of this adventure， so far， has been the accidental acquisition12 of a rooster. One week after arrival， one of our “hens” began crowing every morning as soon as she （he？） exited the coop. My instinct， as a newbie farmer， was to turn to Google， where I learned that dominant13 hens do occasionally crow if theres no rooster present. （I also sent the farmer an email.） But as the crows grew louder， longer， and more numerous in the mornings， I became doubtful. When the farmer replied， she said， no， shed never known a Chantecler hen to crow; and so， very sadly， I had to return my magnificent chanticleer14 to his former home. Now the remaining four hens cluck quietly and softly all day long and I miss the roosters cheerful morning greeting.

到目前為止，這次冒險(xiǎn)中最有趣的部分是意外得到了一只公雞。它們來(lái)這里一個(gè)星期后，我們的一只“母雞”每天早上一走出雞籠就開始啼叫。作為一個(gè)新手農(nóng)民，我的直覺是求助于谷歌，在上面我了解到，如果沒有公雞在場(chǎng)，占統(tǒng)治地位的母雞偶爾也會(huì)啼叫。（我還給那位農(nóng)民發(fā)了一封電子郵件。） 但是，隨著它在早晨的啼叫聲越來(lái)越大，越來(lái)越長(zhǎng)，越來(lái)越多，我開始懷疑了。農(nóng)夫回復(fù)說(shuō)，不，她從來(lái)沒見過會(huì)打鳴的香特可蕾母雞。所以，非常遺憾的是，我不得不把我的公雞送回它以前的家?，F(xiàn)在剩下的四只母雞整天安靜而溫柔地咕咕叫著，我想念公雞愉快的晨間問候。

Another challenge has made me worried is how much they poop. People had warned me， but until I was actually cleaning out their coop every few days and seeing the waste lying around the fenced-in yard， I didnt understand how “efficient” they would be！Daily rain hasnt helped either， turning their yard to mud. Ive since learned about the “deep litter” method and am trying to throw as much organic matter as possible into their yard， in an effort to make a soft， interesting forest floor for them that will break down the waste more quickly.

另一個(gè)困擾我的挑戰(zhàn)是它們的糞便。別人曾經(jīng)提醒過我，但直到我每隔幾天就清理它們的雞籠，看到院子里到處都是垃圾的時(shí)候，我才明白它們有多“高效”！每天下雨也無(wú)濟(jì)于事，只不過把它們的院子變成了泥地。從那以后，我學(xué)習(xí)了“厚褥草法”，并試圖把盡可能多的有機(jī)物扔進(jìn)它們的院子里，努力為它們?cè)僭煲粋€(gè)柔軟、有趣的森林地面，可以更快地分解廢物。

The chickens are an endless source of delight to my children， who have never owned a pet before. Even my husband， who disliked their arrival， is growing quite fond of “the girls”， as he calls them. Theyre part of the family already， and will be for many years.

我的孩子們從來(lái)沒有養(yǎng)過寵物，小雞給他們帶來(lái)了無(wú)盡的快樂。即使是我的丈夫，一開始不喜歡它們的到來(lái)，現(xiàn)在也越來(lái)越喜歡他口中的“姑娘們”。它們已經(jīng)是這個(gè)家庭的一份子了，而且還會(huì)持續(xù)很多年。

Notes

1. flock [? ? ?] n. （羊或鳥）群

2. forage [? ? ?] v. 覓（食）

3. controversy [? ? ?] n. （公開的）爭(zhēng)論，辯論，論戰(zhàn)

4. passionate [? ? ?] adj. 熱誠(chéng)的;狂熱的

5. approval [? ? ?] n. 批準(zhǔn)，通過

6. monk [? ? ?] n. 僧侶;修道士

7. resistant [? ? ?] adj. 抵抗的;有抵抗力的

8. supervision [? ? ?] n. 監(jiān)督;管理

9. vigorous [? ? ?] adj. 充滿活力的

10. temperament [? ? ?] n. （人或動(dòng)物的）氣質(zhì)，性情，性格

11. chagrin [? ? ?] n. 失望;惱怒;煩惱;懊惱

12. acquisition [? ? ?] n. （知識(shí)、技能等的）獲得，得到

13. dominant [? ? ?] adj. 首要的;占支配地位的

14. chanticleer [? ? ?] n. 公雞，雄雞