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Americans are showing more interest in owning unusually small cows, goats, donkeys and other small farm animals. These animals are cute. They require less food and space. And they might even help cut the grass.
美国人越来越喜欢饲养体型异常小巧的奶牛、山羊、驴子和其他小型农场动物。 这些动物很可爱，需要的食物和空间更少，甚至还能帮忙割草。
People who farm for fun are known as hobby farmers. They are looking for easy-to-raise farm animals.
以务农为乐的人被称为业余农民。他们正在寻找易于饲养的农场动物。
Some just like the idea of having a little pig or a small sheep as a pet.
有些人产生了把小猪或小羊作为宠物的想法。
The word for something that is unusually small is miniature.
表示某物异常小的单词是miniature。
Animal breeders say sales of these little farm animals have grown since the COVID-19 pandemic.
动物饲养员表示，自新冠疫情以来，这些小型农场动物的销量有所增长。
At that time, more people started raising chickens at home for fun and fresh eggs.
在那个时候，越来越多的人为了好玩和新鲜的鸡蛋开始在家里养鸡。
Like chickens, mini farm animals appeal to beginners who want to try a rural lifestyle.
像鸡一样，迷你农场动物吸引了那些想要尝试乡村生活方式的初学者。
Brian Gazda has a small farm in the western state of Idaho.
布莱恩·加兹达在爱达荷州西部有一个小农场。
He runs a YouTube channel called "Hobby Farm Guys" with two friends.
他和两个朋友经营着一个名为“爱好农场伙计”的油管频道。
Gazda said a lot of people do not have a large piece of land, but if they have a small area, “they can keep a miniature cow or a few miniature goats."
加兹达说，很多人没有大片土地，但如果他们有一小块地方，“就可以养一头迷你奶牛或几只迷你山羊”。
Martin Fysh works for Tractor Supply Company. He said social media has brought attention to mini farm animals.
他说社交媒体已经把注意力带到了迷你农场动物身上。
But Fysh thinks their popularity also shows a natural path among customers who started out by raising a few chickens.
但菲什认为，它们的受欢迎程度也显示出，在那些一开始只养了几只鸡的客户中，存在一条自然的发展路径。
"They're seen as part of the extended family," Fysh said.
“他们被视为大家庭的一部分，”菲什表示。
Some owners of mini farm animals turn their hobbies into money-making activities.
一些迷你农场动物的主人将他们的爱好变成了赚钱的活动。
They show the animals to visitors, breed animals, and write about their farming experiences.
他们向游客展示动物，饲养动物，并写下他们的养殖经验。
But newcomers to these activities need to weigh the pros and cons, or the good and bad effects, of hobby farming, Gazda and other hobby farmers said.
新加入这些活动的人需要权衡业余爱好农场的利弊或好坏影响。
Among the problems is the rising cost of miniature farm animals. While they are cute, they can also be aggressive.
其中一个问题是微型农场动物的成本不断上升。虽然它们很可爱，但它们也可能具有攻击性。
Brittany Snow is a high school English teacher in Florida who owns several small-sized Nigerian dwarf goats.
布列塔尼·斯诺是佛罗里达州的一名高中英语教师，她养着几只尼日利亚矮脚小山羊。
She dreamed of living on a farm.Her family recently moved to a rural area. Thirty-two-year-old Snow started with four Nigerian Dwarf goats.
她的梦想是住在农场里。她家最近搬到了农村地区。32 岁的斯诺最初养了四只尼日利亚矮脚小山羊。
Snow expected them to produce milk right away, but she learned that is not the case.
斯诺希望它们马上产奶，但她了解到情况并非如此。
Angelia Alden is a business operations manager for the Miniature Dairy Goat Association.
安吉莉娅·奥尔登是小型乳用山羊协会的业务运营经理。
She said many people who buy mini goats sell them after a few years because their care presents problems and costs they did not expect.
她说，很多人买了迷你山羊几年后就卖掉了，因为它们的护理带来了他们意想不到的问题和成本。
Rising animal feed costs can be one problem, as is finding farm animal medical care. The mini farm animals can also be heavy.
动物饲料成本上升是一个问题，寻找农场动物医疗服务也是一个问题。迷你农场动物也可能很重。
Some of the popular miniature animals on social media are cows that can weigh between 220 and 270 kilograms.
一些在社交媒体上受欢迎的微型动物是体重在220到270公斤之间的奶牛。
Twenty-eight-year-old Allie Sine started her own business breeding and selling mini cows in 2020.
28 岁的艾莉-西恩于 2020 年开始从事迷你奶牛的饲养和销售。
Social media videos showing some of her mini cows have gotten millions of views. Last year, she sold about 190 young cows. Each animal sold for between $2,000 and $30,000. "Everything just skyrocketed," Sine said.
她在社交媒体展示迷你牛的视频已经获得了数百万的浏览量。去年，她出售了大约190头小牛。每头动物的售价在2000美元到30000美元之间。西恩表示：“一切都发展的如此迅速。”
Kim Furches owns a farm with her husband, Ken, in West Jefferson, North Carolina. She has found similar success.
金·弗奇斯和她的丈夫肯在北卡罗来纳州的西杰斐逊拥有一个农场。她也取得了类似的成功。
Furches said they bred mini donkeys for about 20 years.
弗奇斯说，他们饲养迷你驴大约有20年了。
Before the pandemic, they would usually sell about eight donkeys per year for less than a thousand dollars each. They now sell about 20 per year.
在疫情之前，他们通常每年出售大约八头驴，每头驴的售价不到一千美元。他们现在每年出售大约20头。
The last mini donkey sold for $7,500, Furches said.
最后一头迷你驴以7500美元的价格售出，弗奇斯说。
Earlier this year, Jamie Campion, who is 41, and her husband, Jeff, bought two Southdown Babydoll sheep from a local breeder near their home in Thompson's Station, Tennessee. The animals cost $800 each.
今年早些时候，41岁的杰米·坎皮恩和她的丈夫杰夫从他们位于田纳西州汤普森站的家附近的当地饲养员那里购买了两只南丘巴贝道尔羊。每只动物的价格为800美元。
Jamie Campion said the sheep have become good at keeping their grass short.
杰米·坎皮恩说，这些羊已经很擅长把草吃短了。
But more often, the sheep give her joy as would other pets. Once she took them for a walk in the snow. "They just followed right behind," she said. "There's a whole sheep and shepherd relationship. ”
但更多的时候，这些羊给她带来的快乐就像其他宠物一样。有一次，她带它们在雪地里散步。“它们就跟在后面，”她说。“这是一种完整的牧羊人和羊的关系。”
I’m Jill Robbins.
我是吉尔·罗宾斯。
