Headless Chicken Lives On As Legend

2001 - Volume #25, Issue #2, Page #22

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The legend of Mike the Headless Chicken began on September 10th, 1945, when Lloyd Olsen set out to the farmyard to prepare the tasty-looking chicken for dinner.
Lloyd's mother-in-law was coming for dinner and she loved to eat necks. So he aimed his ax high in order to leave as long a neck bone as possible.
After chickens get their heads chopped off, they almost always get up and run around for a minute or two. The difference this time was that Mike just went right back to being a chicken. He wouldn't die.
Lloyd selected another bird for that night's dinner and let Mike be. When he found the headless bird still alive the next morning, preening his feathers and trying to peck for food like the other birds, he decided to let him live.
Mike was given water with an eyedropper and grain was dropped directly into the hole in his neck. After a week of that, Lloyd took Mike to the University of Utah where a skeptical scientist examined the amazing bird. Their conclusion was that a blood clot had prevented Mike from bleeding to death and that the ax had missed most of the brain stem. Since chickens are primarily controlled by the brain stem, Mike remained quite healthy.
The headless bird lived for 18 months, growing from 2 1/2 lbs. to 8 lbs. He became famous when Life magazine did a story on him. Local residents described him as a "big fat chicken who didn't know he didn't have a head". By all reports, he seemed just as happy as any other chicken.
Mike got a manager and the Olsens took him on a national tour. Thousands paid 25 cents apiece to see the headless wonder. At the peak of his popularity, Mike was valued at $10,000. After 18 months, Mike finally choked to death when something got stuck in his airway.
The Olsen's hometown, Fruita, Colorado, thought so much of Mike it erected a statue of him in the town and he's remembered with a celebration each year called "Mike the Headless Chicken Days".
You can get the whole story on Mike at this website: www.MikeTheHeadless Chicken.org.

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Headless Chicken Lives On As Legend AG WORLD 25-2-22 The legend of Mike the Headless Chicken began on September 10th, 1945, when Lloyd Olsen set out to the farmyard to prepare the tasty-looking chicken for dinner. Lloyd's mother-in-law was coming for dinner and she loved to eat necks. So he aimed his ax high in order to leave as long a neck bone as possible. After chickens get their heads chopped off, they almost always get up and run around for a minute or two. The difference this time was that Mike just went right back to being a chicken. He wouldn't die. Lloyd selected another bird for that night's dinner and let Mike be. When he found the headless bird still alive the next morning, preening his feathers and trying to peck for food like the other birds, he decided to let him live. Mike was given water with an eyedropper and grain was dropped directly into the hole in his neck. After a week of that, Lloyd took Mike to the University of Utah where a skeptical scientist examined the amazing bird. Their conclusion was that a blood clot had prevented Mike from bleeding to death and that the ax had missed most of the brain stem. Since chickens are primarily controlled by the brain stem, Mike remained quite healthy. The headless bird lived for 18 months, growing from 2 1/2 lbs. to 8 lbs. He became famous when Life magazine did a story on him. Local residents described him as a "big fat chicken who didn't know he didn't have a head". By all reports, he seemed just as happy as any other chicken. Mike got a manager and the Olsens took him on a national tour. Thousands paid 25 cents apiece to see the headless wonder. At the peak of his popularity, Mike was valued at $10,000. After 18 months, Mike finally choked to death when something got stuck in his airway. The Olsen's hometown, Fruita, Colorado, thought so much of Mike it erected a statue of him in the town and he's remembered with a celebration each year called "Mike the Headless Chicken Days". You can get the whole story on Mike at this website: www.MikeTheHeadless Chicken.org.

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