Meet Mike The Headless Chicken: Chicken That Lived For 18 Months Without A Head

• Seventy-six years ago In Colorado, a chicken was beheaded and refused to die

• The chicken survived for 18 months and even became famous as Mike the headless chicken

• A headless chicken festival is celebrated in may every year in honor of Mike.

Typically when you cut the head off a chicken, it dies within minutes. Then you proceed to de-feather it and make a beautiful meal.

This was not the case on 10 September 1945.

How it began

A farmer and his wife, Lloyd Olsen and Clara were killing chickens on their farm in Fruita, Colorado.

Olsen was in charge of beheading the chickens while his wife would clean them up.

They did this for about 40 chickens and it all went according to plan except for one.

The couple noticed that one of the birds that were beheaded that day was alive and walking around.

The farmers were shocked but decided against doing further harm to the bird. They kept the chicken in an apple box for the night.

On waking up the next morning, they realized that it was still alive and decided to keep it.

Olsen being a wise man, decided to make money from this. He would bet people that he had a headless live chicken and win beers and other stuff.

The days of Mike the headless chicken

The chicken became more popular, it was invited for tours and shows and people paid to see it.

Mike went on to live for 18 months and the owners made more from shows and other events that the bird was invited for.

How was the chicken fed?

Mike the headless chicken was fed with liquid food and water that was dropped directly into its gullet.

They fed him with a dropper and removed blockages from his throat with a syringe.

Mike’s death

Mike the magic bird was a celebrity animal till it passed away in the spring of 1947.

That night, they were woken by the sound of the bird choking in their room.

They searched for a syringe to clear the blockage but couldn’t find one and the bird suffocated.

How did the chicken survive for so long?

The ability of the chicken to survive without a head was explained by Dr. Tom Smulders.

Dr. Smulders stated that the majority of chickens’ brains is located in the back of their head.

Mike’s brain wasn’t really damaged when he was beheaded and he was still able to function.

The surprising thing is that many others who have tried to replicate the incident with another chicken failed.

Read also: The origin of “Good Friday”

Legacy of the chicken

Following Mike’s death, a statue of the bird was erected in Fruita to remember it.

Also, a festival tagged “Mike the headless chicken festival” is held in its honor each year.

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