Todd Willert, the football coach at East Forsyth, stays busy with his chickens and ducks

KERNERSVILLE - Todd Willert, who is entering his 24th season as the football coach at East Forsyth, takes in the action on the field that surrounds him.

He notices Sonny, Buddy, Donnie, Oliver, Derek and Drew scurrying about on the green grass. Others are seeking shade as the sun starts to emerge from the clouds in the early June afternoon.

Those aren't his players that he is keeping an eye on, calling plays for, or teaching them a route or a formation. They are some of the names for his chickens. And ducks.

Nearly 100 of them to be more precise, some of them roaming the grass in his back yard that also doubles as H & M Farms, named after his daughter, Harper, who is 12, and his son, Morgan, who is 8.

Along with his wife, Katie, the Willerts entered this grand experiment when they moved to their current location in October 2022. It was Harper who made the initial request for chickens when they moved to their new home.

Katie Willert was resistant – at first.

"I thought they were crazy and disgusting and I was never going to do that," Katie Willert said. "I eventually gave in July of 2023. We got attached pretty quickly. I searched for the friendliest breeds of chickens and where I could find little chicks. After that first batch, we started hatching. All of the ones we have now we've bred, with the exception of Todd and Kathryn."

Todd and Kathryn, the owners' namesakes, came from Katie's Aunt Lorie, who lives up the street from them.

"I think it kind of started out as a housewarming present for us when we moved in," Willert said with a laugh. "Look what it's grown to since."

The Willerts were quick to learn that Todd, the rooster, needed more than one chicken to "have a happy life."

"We knew we needed more than one chicken or it wouldn't be healthy in the long run for Kathryn," Willert said with a laugh.

The original two chickens have now grown to 51, seven of which are roosters. Also, there are 38 ducks. And almost everyone of them has a name.

There's McGee the rooster, who especially enjoys attention. He is named after the TV character Timothy McGee on the show NCIS, one of the Willerts' favorites, and NOT after Josh McGee, the football coach at Reagan.

Another name taken from NCIS is Ziva, one of the chickens.

There's Blanche, Dorothy, Sofia and Rose – yes, named after the classic sitcom The Golden Girls, and for the younger generation, there's Bandit and Bluey from the current hit cartoon Bluey on the Disney Channel.

Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton are among the ducks owned by the Willerts.

"Kenny Rogers used to be Reba McIntire until we found out she was a he," Katie Willert said with a laugh.

There's also Pumpkin, who was born on Thanksgiving Day, Jingle and Belle, two ducks who were born on Christmas, Steel Magnolias, named after the popular movie, and Peppermint Patty and Lucy from the Peanuts comic strip.

"I feel like I have to give them names like that so I can keep up with them," Katie Willert said.

There are 12 coops in all, 11 of which were built by Todd Willert as their animal family has grown the last three years.

Todd and Kathryn, their first two, are housed in an old dog enclosure the Willerts had.

"We also have an infirmary in our house in Katie's old office," Todd Willert said. "Some of them will stay in there with us when they need to. We also have an incubator in there and have hatched a lot of eggs."

Everyone gets food and water at night, when the Willerts also take great care to count every chicken and duck once they get back to their coops.

"We've seen a coyote roaming around the last few days, so we have to be very careful," Todd Willert said."

What's it like to get everyone back to where they need to be when the sun goes down?

"Chickens can't see in the dark, but they will typically just head to their coops once it gets dusk," Katie Willert said. "Now the ducks, they would party all night if they could. We have to get flashlights and escort them in every night."

Todd Willert said that one of the favorite parts of his day is getting up to let everyone out in the morning before he heads to school.

"I start with the ducks and go in a row for everyone else," Willert said. "I can't tell you how many times I've gone to work and Katie will call me to tell me that I didn't let so-and-so out today. There's a lot of doors to open."

Harper Willert loves to feed the animals. Morgan is adept at rounding up any rogue creatures who might be a little stubborn in turning in for the night.

At one of Harper's recent birthday parties, Pancake, one of the ducks, flew right into the family pool to join in the fun.

"Some people want to swim with dolphins, but you can come to our place and have an experience swimming with ducks," Todd Willert said.

It's not always fun and adventurous.

Bandit pecked Todd Willert in the corner of his left eye several months ago, the day before he was set to fly back home to Wisconsin for his father's funeral, causing it to swell up.

"Bandit, he's kind of mean to me, but he loves Katie," he said.

"Bandit would never do something like that, so I'm sure he was provoked," Katie said.

The Willerts do sell some of the eggs that are produced and they have also taken some to elementary schools in the Kernersville area for classes to help with science projects.

"The whole operation is quite an undertaking, as you might imagine," Katie Willert said.

When the Willerts go on their summer vacation, they recruit Katie's Uncle Joe to stay at their house and take care of everything.

"We wrangled him in a couple of years ago and he has fallen in love with them, too," Todd Willert said.

Neither Willert nor his wife had any exposure to caring for chickens and ducks when they were younger. Todd Willert worked on a cow farm in Wisconsin and Katie didn't warm up to the idea of ever having chickens, even though her aunt has had them for a long time.

"I remember telling my aunt that they are the most disgusting things I've ever seen," she said.

"None of my friends and other family members can believe that this is something that I do now. It's definitely something they never would have expected. But we do love it."

Todd Willert the coach won back-to-back state football championships in 2018 and 2019, has won 11 conference championships, and has amassed 205 wins in his coaching career, where he sits atop the all-time wins list at East Forsyth.

Hundreds of his former players have gone on to play college football, and his passion for what he is doing off the field continues to grow.

"I don't play golf, I don't fish, and I don't hunt," Willert said. "I just take care of chickens and ducks. And I love it."

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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 5:37 AM.