The story of how rooster Mike lived without a head

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:53

September 10, 1945. Rooster Mike: the beginning of a second life. Farmer Lloyd Olsen was waiting for the arrival of his mother-in-law. In Colorado, it was customary to honor parents, so together with his wife, they decided to cook a good dinner in honor of her visit. And, of course, what is a table without a baked bird? Moreover, the wife's mother loved chicken necks so much! Lloyd, clutching an ax in his hand, went to the chicken coop. Today the choice fell on a rooster named Mike. Olsen, being a farmer, had already performed decapitation more than once, so he confidently slashed with an ax, trying to strike as close to the base of the skull as possible, leaving most of the cock's neck.

Lloyd knew that after cutting off the head of a chicken, she could not only run for several minutes, but also fly, so he began to wait. The longer the farmer watched the behavior of the headless bird, the more his eyes "climbed on his forehead": after a series of chaotic movements, rooster Mike, as if nothing had happened, returned to his former life: he tried to peck grain, clean feathers. After recovering from the shock and laughing, Olsen decided to leave Mike alone, taking another rooster as a "victim". Imagine his surprise when the next morning hefound a sleeping headless bird with a stump under its wing in a chicken coop…

Since then, Lloyd has sworn off caring for the rooster, becoming more and more amazed every day by the length of the second anomalous life given to Mike.

Headless but famous!

Rooster Mike continued to live, and Olsen diligently helped him in this: he fed him milk, small grains of corn from a pipette. He put all his food right down his neck. After some time, the farmer thought that it was unfair to hide such a miracle from prying eyes. He loaded his headless pet into a car and drove to Colorado State University, seeking commentary on such an existence. Scientists, having examined the “victim”, gave the following explanations: the ax blade went very well, without hitting the carotid artery, and the blood clot blocked the wreath, thereby saving the bird from blood loss. Most importantly, most of the spinal cord survived, which is responsible for most of the rooster's reflexes. By the way, one ear remained intact, so his life was not so boring after all!

Meanwhile, headless rooster Mike continued to live, get better and feather. At one point, the farmer decided to amuse the people with the help of his bird and make money from it. And he went on a tour of the country. People lined up to watch the wonder bird, paying 25 cents for the spectacle. Rooster Mike gained great fame thanks to publications in various magazines, the Guinness book. As a result, its price was set at $10,000.

Rooster lived without a head for another 18 months. His death was ridiculous and unexpected: at night he choked on his own secretions, and the "guardian" Lloyd did not have time to find a dropper to clear his throat.

The sensational story of the "Amazing Chicken" made such a strong impression on all farmers in the country that many of them tried to repeat Olsen's "feat" by chopping off the heads of dozens of chickens. But all in vain - no one has succeeded in a second such Mike.