Chicken Coop Rental Business 鸡笼租凭业务

胡艺菡

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.

越来越多的美国人对有机的以及本地生产的食物感兴趣了。随着兴趣的增加，在美国一些城市，养鸡也变得流行起来。家禽饲养未必适合每一个人，但是它似乎有着光明的前景。

“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，这次我们捡了三个鸡蛋。”

捡鸡蛋是赫斯特一家每天的乐趣。娜奥米·赫斯特说，他们家从一个月前开始在位于马里兰州的家中的后院养鸡。

“多年来我们一直想试着在后院养鸡，但是没有足够的时间去修鸡舍，以及寻找买鸡的地方。后来我们发现了Rent a Coop。”娜奥米·赫斯特说。

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是一家租鸡公司。泰勒·菲利普斯和合伙人于一年半之前创建了这家公司。

“这包括一个带轮子的可以移动的鸡舍，两只下蛋的母鸡，饲料，鸡窝，水盆，食盆，以及我们24小时的养鸡热线。你可以咨询任何问题。租四周的价格是185美元。”菲利普斯说。 四周之后，顾客可以延长租期，或者归还所有东西，又或者买下这些鸡和养鸡的用品。

“我们平均每月会租出12到15个鸡舍。从去年起，我们已经卖出了75个带母鸡的鸡舍，所以我们已经卖出去了将近200只母鸡。”菲利普斯说。

泰勒·菲利普斯亲自设计制作了这些鸡舍。他说，他希望尽可能减少对环境的破坏。他说，“我们尽可能使用可回收材料。并且我希望鸡舍对孩子们来说是安全的，这是第一重要的。我希望鸡住得舒服，即使它们在鸡舍里，也能接触到草。我还希望鸡笼重量轻，便于移动。”

菲利普斯说，鸡笼租赁业务源于他对动物的喜爱。他是在华盛顿郊外父母的农场里长大的。

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.

赫斯特夫妇希望他们的农场能教会女儿有爱心和责任心。

“我们以前都不曾对食物之源表示感激，但是每当我们在捡鸡蛋时，都会说‘谢谢，母鸡们。这点很难教，除非你家后院饲养着给你提供食物的动物。所以对我女儿而言，这也是一个很好的学习机会。”娜奥米·赫斯特说。

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.

如果想要养动物，有些城市要求人们有一块较大的土地。有些城市则要求人们和邻居们达成协议，限制鸡的数量，或者更有甚者，禁止饲养禽类。

泰勒·菲利普斯希望随着人们对鸡舍的兴趣增加，这种现状能够得以改变。

“我看到华盛顿周围的有些城市几乎每个月都在修改法律，不同的城市会修改法律允许养鸡。这是美国正在发生的事。”他说。

他相信，在未来五年内，美国大多数城市都会有鸡舍租赁业务。

Notes：

1. coop [] n. （关家禽等的）笼子；栏舍

2. organic [] adj. 有机（体）的