Headless Chicken Survives for Over a Year

                                                      The Beginnings of Mike

The chicken’s name was Mike. He was going to be slaughtered and most likely turned into someone’s lunch. However, something extraordinary happened: the butcher missed his jugular vein leaving most of his brain stem and one ear intact. Mike attempted to peck for food and he made a weird gurgling sound. The rancher, Lloyd Olsen decided to take care of Mike. Lloyd fed Mike with a mixture of milk and water with an eyedropper. Lloyd also fed him small grains of corn and worms.

                                                         Mike's Legacy

                                        Mike became famous by touring sideshows (a carnival act).

He appeared in prestigious magazines like Life and Times. You were able to see Mike for the price of 25 cents (about $4 today). Mike died in 1947. Mike died from choking on mucus in the middle of the night at a motel in Phoenix, Arizona. The town where he was born, Fruita, Colorado began hosting “Mike The Chicken Day” on the third weekend of May since 1999. At the event people participate in the 5K Run Like a Headless Chicken race, Egg Toss, Pin The Head on The Chicken, Chicken Cluck Off, and Chicken Bingo.  So if someone tells you that you're running around like a chicken with their head cut off, you can tell them all about Mike The Headless Chicken. 

    

The image shows Mike The Headless Chicken.                      

                                                                                

                                                               The image shows Fruita, Colorado.