On September 10, 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen of Fruita, Colorado, United States, had his mother-in-law around for supper and was sent out to the yard by his wife to bring back a chicken. Olsen chose a five-and-a-half-month-old cockerel named Mike. The axe missed the jugular vein, leaving one ear and most of the brain stem intact.[2][3]
Despite Olsen's botched handiwork, Mike was still able to balance on a perch and walk clumsily; he even attempted to preen and crow, although he could do neither. After the bird did not die, a surprised Mr. Olsen decided to continue to care permanently for Mike, feeding him a mixture of milk and water via an eyedropper; he was also fed small grains of corn.
When used to his new and unusual center of mass, Mike could easily get himself to the highest perches without falling. His crowing, though, was less impressive and consisted of a gurgling sound made in his throat, leaving him unable to crow at dawn. Mike also spent his time preening and attempting to peck for food with his neck.[2]
Once his fame had been established, Mike began a career of touring sideshows in the company of such other creatures as a two-headed calf. He was also photographed for dozens of magazines and papers, featuring in Time and Life magazines.[2]
Mike was on display to the public for an admission cost of 25 cents. At the height of his popularity, the chicken earned US$4,500 per month ($48,000 in 2010 dollars) and was valued at $10,000.[2] Olsen's success resulted in a wave of copycat chicken beheading, but no other chicken lived for more than a day or two.[citation needed]
In March 1947, at a motel in Phoenix on a stopover while travelling back home from tour, Mike started choking in the middle of the night. As the Olsens had inadvertently left their feeding and cleaning syringes at the sideshow the day before, they were unable to save Mike. Lloyd Olsen claimed that he had sold the bird off, resulting in stories of Mike still touring the country as late as 1949. Other sources say that the chicken's severed trachea could not take in enough air properly to be able to breathe; and therefore choked to death in the motel.
Mike The Headless Chicken
- Oceansong-Direwolf
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Mike The Headless Chicken
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_mike
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- lightshadowwolf223
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Re: Mike The Headless Chicken
Wow that would kind of scare me.
Hunting is not destruction and i get annoyed by people all ways going like: OOO your killing the animals!
I just say: No. its population managment, and could someone who hates animals know so much about them?
I just say: No. its population managment, and could someone who hates animals know so much about them?
- Swifty
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Re: Mike The Headless Chicken
I remember hearing about this bird in the PBS video The Natural History of the Chicken. Incredible that it even happened!
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Re: Mike The Headless Chicken
I love that video so much.Swifty wrote:I remember hearing about this bird in the PBS video The Natural History of the Chicken. Incredible that it even happened!
And I've heard of Mike! Poor thing choked of mucus in the end...
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... knives and stuff!❞
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Re: Mike The Headless Chicken
I've heard of this. The poor thing; I feel bad for Mike.
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Re: Mike The Headless Chicken
This was interesting, but I hate what they did to that poor chicken, they should have just killed it rather then make it live the rest of its life with no head. Thats only my opinion though.
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- failwolf56
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Re: Mike The Headless Chicken
Oh, I've heard of this before. Such an interesting story, lol, weird to think about something living without one of the most important limbs. Thanks for the share Oceansong!
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Re: Mike The Headless Chicken
This is very interesting... I've read this story in The Guineas Book of World Records and I was fascinated with it all. I wish I had a headless chicken, only if it was born headless. Its a pretty cool thing to survive.
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Re: Mike The Headless Chicken
That's very weird but it is very interesting but he choked on something
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- thelostwolf12345
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Re: Mike The Headless Chicken
whoa talk about cheating death then he died but if i saw it i think i would freak out but then praise it but if i lived there and saw that chicken my reaction would be "oh now ive seen it all!"
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Re: Mike The Headless Chicken
I've heard of this before. I'm just glad a picture link wasn't posted I feel bad for the chicken, in the end. But, everything must die eventually, whether it is a living phenomenon or not. I also think that Mike is a fitting name for a virtually headless chicken.
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- WolvesOfTheSeas
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Re: Mike The Headless Chicken
What a headless chicken never heard of it but quite interesting... Is it still alive?
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