Mohnton youth's rooster a big winner at Farm Show

Will Kitsch, a sixth grader at Governor Mifflin Intermediate School, didn’t grow up on a farm, but when his preschool class visited one, he says he was the only one who wanted to go into the chicken coop to collect the eggs.

That same year his parents, Bill and Christine Kitsch, sent away for about a dozen chicks from a hatchery. Will learned how to take care of them and eventually decided he wanted to join 4-H and begin showing his chickens. Unfortunately, he found out that his chickens were not show quality. After picking out a few breeds that he liked, they found a local breeder – one in Grantville continues to be Will’s mentor – who did offer show-quality chickens.

After that, Will began hatching his own chicks and even raising a few that were destined for his family’s kitchen table. Christine said they had a lot of talks with Will and his siblings about raising chickens for meat. They knew from the start that those chickens were not to be named and that they would have a short life. Today Will has 30-40 chickens in his backyard (just a little over an acre) in Mohnton.

Every morning Will gets up before school to feed and water the chickens. Then after school he goes out and does it all again. On really cold nights he has to bring their water in, so it doesn’t freeze. And, ofcourse, he has to collect the eggs, usually twice a day. Some eggs are set aside for hatching and others are eaten .

Four years ago Will began showing his chickens at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. This year he won his biggest award ever when his two-year-old rooster, Tiger, won Reserve Grand Champion Large Chicken. Will has had Tiger since he was a chick and Tiger’s son, who Will hatched himself, also showed well this year.

To prepare Tiger and the 28 other chickens he took to the show, Will trimmed their toe nails, washed them, and put “stuff” on their combs and feathers to make them glossy. Will says that they needed to be very clean.

About a year ago, Will brought two ducks home for his nine-year-old brother, Gabriel, who has always loved ducks. One of them got away, so they bought ten eggs for Gabriel. Six eggs hatched – all girls. Today Gabriel has a flock of ducks, which he says are easier to take care of than the chickens. He entered three of them – Sonic, Tittlewinks, and Rosie – into the competition at the farm show and won several awards in the Bantam Duck Class.

Christine says that raising chickens and ducks has taught the boys responsibility, compassion, and care. She says when you domesticate an animal and put it in a cage, it’s completely dependent on you for its care. It never takes a day off or goes on vacation. No matter what the weather, it’s your responsibility to care for the well-being of that living creature.

She says the boys are also learning about financial responsibility. They’ve sold some of their chickens and they’ve sold chicken and duck meat to their friends and family. They’re also learning about where their food comes from, and they’re doing hands-on projects. This year they’re planning on re-doing the front of the coop.