Many people have heard more than once that a chicken whose head has been cut off can run around the area for some time. This usually happens to inexperienced owners and lasts several minutes. However, there is a known case in history when a chicken without a head lived for a year and a half. Why such situations happen to birds and how this is explained, we will try to figure it out.
How long can a chicken live without a head?
To prepare a delicious dinner from a chicken, the first step is to kill it by cutting off its head. However, the bird remains alive for some time. If you don’t hold your body at this moment, then it will try to move or even try to take off. Most often, headless chickens run chaotically around the area and this lasts for several minutes. Then the chicken simply dies from blood loss.
Sometimes the time of headless existence can last up to several hours. Why is this happening? The fact is that in birds and mammals, motor function is controlled by the spinal cord. After cutting off the head, nerve impulses continue to flow from it for several minutes.
As long as blood circulates in the body, all organs continue to work. Including the spinal cord, which contains the motor center. Therefore, for some time the spinal center continues to send signals to the cells of the body, but at the same time the coordination of movements is already impaired.
This continues until the feathered creature dies, having lost most of its blood. In fact, all this time the bird is suffering, and the sight of a headless chicken running around is not the most pleasant. Therefore, you should approach the cutting of the carcass carefully, cut off the head with a clear movement and hold the body tightly.
The Amazing Story of Mike the Rooster
The story began in September 1945, when American farmer Lloyd Olsen, who lived in Colorado, decided to kill a rooster for dinner. The choice fell on the youngest rooster, a five-month-old Wyandotte chicken. Wanting to leave more of the tasty neck meat in the carcass, the farmer tried to carefully chop off the head. But when hit with an ax, the walls of the carotid artery stuck together, preventing blood from flowing out.
For some time the rooster lay motionless on the ground, but after a few minutes he stood up and began to run awkwardly, but quite confidently, around the yard. The puzzled owner decided to wait to see what would happen next. He was sure that soon the death throes would pass and the bird could be cut up further. However, the rooster turned out to be tenacious; Moreover, he began to quite consciously walk on the ground, climb onto a perch, and even tried to peck grains.
Observing the surviving rooster, Olsen decided not to finish it off. What was guiding him at that time is unknown. Either simple curiosity, or scientific interest. Or maybe the farmer immediately realized that he could make good money on a unique animal. As a result, a Colorado resident began nursing a headless rooster, whom he named Mike.
The farmer fed the rooster milk from a pipette and pushed pieces of food into his esophagus. Soon Mike began to feel completely confident, having gotten used to the new conditions of existence. He moved freely around the yard and sat on the roost no worse than other chickens. Mike tried to preen his feathers like other birds, and hid his neck under his wing while sleeping. Some difficulties were caused by the fact that mucus constantly got into the trachea, but the caring owner removed the secretions with a syringe.
Soon, fame about the unusual rooster spread throughout Colorado. To dispel all the doubts that many distrustful townspeople had, Olsen took his pet to science Center at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The rooster aroused great interest among scientists who decided to find out the reason for this unique case. It turned out that the ax struck in such a way that the jugular vein remained intact. In addition, most of the spinal cord and one ear survived.
The remaining part of the brain stem was enough for the rooster to continue to live, while all organs continued to function. The amazing rooster was included in the Guinness Book of Records, and there was no end to those who wanted to see Miracle Mike. Thus began a tour of American cities, which brought the owner of the rooster not only fame, but also wealth.
For almost a year and a half, Olsen toured with his amazing rooster. During this time, Mike brought the owner more than 4 thousand dollars every month, which was a lot of money in 1946. To look at a headless chicken, visitors paid 25 cents, and newspapers paid much more for a photograph of the famous bird.
Mike lived in this headless state for 18 months. However, in March 1947, during the next tour, the rooster suffocated and died. It is worth noting that Lloyd Olsen prudently insured the bird’s life for 10 thousand dollars.
In the city of Fruta, where the famous rooster lived, annual festivities are held in his honor. Since 1999, every third Sunday in May, townspeople have celebrated Mike the Headless Chicken Day. Great popularity Headless Mike led to many farmers trying to repeat Olsen's success, but no one succeeded. Not a single chicken lived even a few hours, let alone a record-breaking period of time without a head - 18 months. So Miracle Mike became a kind of symbol of his hometown and a legend that the whole world is talking about.
Video "Mike the Headless Chicken"
Interview with Lloyd Olsen, owner of a unique rooster.
Notorious for surviving 18 months after his head was almost completely severed. Becoming famous almost immediately after the event, it was brought by its owner to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City for scientists to document the fact, since even then many considered this story a hoax or a lie.
Decapitation
On September 10, 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen from Fruita, Colorado, USA, went to the yard (at the request of his wife) to choose a chicken for dinner. Olsen chose a 5.5-month-old chicken named Mike. The ax missed the jugular vein upon impact, leaving one ear and most of the brain stem intact. After the decapitation, Mike did not move for some time, but then got up and walked as if nothing had happened. Mike's head was almost completely severed, but the first night after the beheading Mike slept on a perch, hiding his neck under his wing.
Mike was able to balance on the perch and walk awkwardly; he even tried to preen his feathers and crow, although he was unable to do either. After the bird did not die, a surprised Olsen decided to continue caring for Mike, constantly feeding him a mixture of milk and water using a dropper and feeding him small kernels of corn. The entrance to Mike's esophagus sometimes became clogged with mucus, and Olsen used a special syringe to clear it.
Despite his new unusual center of gravity, Mike could easily stay on the high perch without falling. His scream, however, was less impressive and consisted only of a gurgling sound in his throat. Mike also tried to clean himself and peck food. In addition, Mike's weight continued to increase: Olsen said that at the time of decapitation, Mike weighed about 2.5 pounds, while at the time of his death he weighed almost 8 pounds.
Glory
As soon as word spread about him, Mike began a "career" as a touring attraction in the company of other similar creatures, such as a two-headed calf. He was also photographed by reporters from dozens of magazines and newspapers, including Time and Life magazines.
Mike was exhibited to the public for a fee of twenty-five cents. At the peak of its popularity, the chicken brought in $4,500 a month ($48,000 in 2010 prices) and was valued at $10,000. A pickled chicken head was often displayed next to Mike, pretending to be his head, but in reality his head was eaten by a cat. Olsen's success led to a wave of chicken beheadings in hopes of repeating the act, but no other beheaded chickens survived more than a day or two.
Death
In March 1947, in one of the motels in Phoenix, where the Olsen family stayed on the way home, Mike began to choke in the dead of night. According to one version, the Olsens had forgotten food and syringes for cleaning the esophagus in the room where the show was held the day before, so they were unable to save Mike. Lloyd Olsen himself claimed that he sold the bird, and as a result stories about Mike continued to circulate throughout the country until late 1949. Other sources claimed that the chicken's trachea ruptured, leaving it unable to breathe and suffocated.
Pathological examination
It was determined that the ax did not hit the carotid artery, so Mike did not die from bleeding. Although part of his head was severed, most of his brain stem and one ear remained on his body. Since basic functions (breathing, pulse, etc.), as well as most reflex actions, are controlled by the brain stem, Mike remained alive. This case is a clear example the fact that many functions of the nervous system can be performed in the absence of the cerebral cortex.
Memory
Mike the Headless Chicken is somewhat of a "symbol" of Fruita, Colorado, and there has been an annual "Headless Chicken Mike Day" on the third weekend of May since 1999. Activities on this day include egg throwing and many other original games.
On September 10, 1945, an American farmer with culinary needs cut off the head of a rooster named "Mike." Surprisingly, the rooster did not die and the inquisitive farmer decided to leave him alive. Mike lived for another 2 years, the farmer fed him with a pipette, although Mike tried to shovel food down his throat himself...
...A young cockerel, five and a half months old, fusses in the dust outside his chicken coop in Fruita, Colorado. The unsuspecting bird looked amazing on this now famous day.
Clara Olsen was planning to cook chicken for dinner. Her husband, Lloyd Olsen, was sent to the chicken coop on a very ordinary mission - to prepare the chicken for its meeting with the frying pan. But the solution to the problem turned out to be not entirely ordinary. Lloyd knew his mother-in-law would be dining with them and that she loved chicken neck. He aimed the ax so as to leave as much neck as possible. “It was important to please your mother-in-law both in the 40s of the last century and today.”
The skillful blow was completed, and the chicken became more like a fresh carcass poultry. Then the resilient bird recovered from the shock and “life began to get better.” Mike (it is unknown when the famous rooster got his nickname) returned to what he was doing before the execution. He went looking for crumbs around the yard and preening the feathers just like the rest of his coop buddies.
When Olsen found Mike sleeping with his “head” under his wing the next morning, he decided that since Mike had survived, he should continue to live. Lloyd came up with a way to feed and water him. Mike was given grain and water using a pipette.
It became obvious that Mike was no ordinary rooster.
After a week of Mike's new life, Olsen picked him up and drove him 250 miles to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Skeptical scientists tried to answer all questions regarding amazing ability Mike to live without a head. It was determined that the ax blade had missed the jugular vein, and a blood clot prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Although most of his head was missing, most of his brain stem and one ear remained. Since most of a chicken's reflexes are controlled by the brain stem, Mike was able to remain quite healthy.
IN 18 MONTHS Mike's life as the "Amazing Headless Chicken" saw him gain weight from a mere 2.5 pounds to almost 8 pounds. In an interview, Olsen said that Mike was "a perfect example of a healthy chicken except for the missing head."
Some Fruit residents also remember Mike - "he was a big fat chicken who didn't know he had no head" - "he seemed as happy as any other chicken."
The Miracle Rooster was meant to be seen by everyone, and Olsen did a national tour. Curious people in New York, Atlantic City, Los Angeles and San Diego paid 25 cents to see Mike. The Amazing Chicken was valued at $10,000 and insured for the same amount. His fame and fortune further improved after publications in Life and Time Magazine. This goes without saying, Everything was registered in the Guinness Book of Records.
Returning from one of these road trips, Olsen stopped at a motel in the Arizona desert. In the middle of the night, Mike began to choke. Lloyd couldn't quickly find an eyedropper to clear Mike's throat. And Mike left this mortal coil...
Now the town of Fruita holds an annual festival to celebrate Mike's awe-inspiring will to live. The program includes concerts, a car show, a running competition (it’s called “Run Like a Headless Chicken”) and other joys of life.
It has been proven that a chicken without a head can live, run, clean its wings and do other everyday things. And it is irrefutable in the example of the amazing story of the transformation of an ordinary poultry into the famous rooster Mike. The article provides details about the existence of a headless pet. The scientific confirmation of this phenomenon is also described - why this happened.
Is this possible?
When the head is cut off, the chicken may retain the ability to run and even fly for a short period of time.
The spinal cord, responsible for numerous reflexes in birds, continues to transmit nerve impulses and control its motor functions. But only while blood circulation continues. Due to large blood loss, the chicken most often dies.
Interesting details on the topic can be found in the article with the intriguing title “Why a chicken can run without a head.”
Famous day
It all started in early autumn in 1945, on an ordinary farm owned by chicken breeder Lloyd Olsen. It was located near the American town of Fruita. Among his relatives in the chicken coop lived a Wyandotte rooster named Mike.
Farmer's wife Clara Olsen decided to make rooster soup for dinner. The husband went to the chicken coop with the usual mission - to kill a bird for the evening celebration.
At 5.5 months old, young rooster Mike looked delicious. That is why the farmer chose him.
Lloyd took the cockerel, laid it on a stump and, using an ax, cut off its head.
Start of a new life
The chicken's fate would have been sealed. If it weren't for a strange accident that saved Mike's life.
The farmer knew that his mother-in-law, invited to the celebration, loved to eat chicken necks. And to please her, Lloyd tried to cut off the bird's head while completely preserving this part.
Perhaps the owner accidentally hit the ax in the wrong place. It is impossible to say with certainty. But as a result, the headless rooster deserved a second life. Of course, not without the participation of the farmer. And he lived another 18 months.
Living chicken carcass
After the rooster's head was cut off, its body began to resemble an ordinary chicken carcass prepared for dinner.
However, the rooster, now headless, had no intention of dying. Instead, after a few minutes he got up, shook himself busily, and began running around the yard.
When the headless chicken Mike was discovered alive and unharmed, the owner was shocked.
Lloyd decided to watch the bird. He attributed the fact of the rooster's survivability to ordinary death agony. The farmer had previously observed it in the chickens he killed.
The first hours of Mike's life, or why his owner didn't kill him
Before night fell, the rooster not only lived without a head, but walked around the chicken coop, climbed onto the perch and even attempted to peck grains.
Lloyd's surprise knew no bounds when he entered the chicken coop in the morning and found Mike the rooster there, quite alive. He slept peacefully on a perch, with the severed part under his wing.
It turns out that the rooster was easily able to live without his head the first night, snoring peacefully on the roost.
And then Lloyd Olsen decided to go out so unusual bird. What guided the farmer:
- ordinary curiosity;
- scientific interest;
- passion for profit.
Now it does not matter. The main thing is that Mike was able to live without his head for almost a year and a half. True, not without human help.
A scientific view of history
To document the fact that the headless rooster continued to live and refute rumors of any hoax, farmer Lloyd Olsen took the pet to a consultation with scientists. To the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
Skeptical scientists had to admit the existence of a headless rooster. And also try to explain to the public the reason for continuing his life.
It turned out that when an ax hit the cervical region of the rooster, the walls of the blood vessels stuck together. And the blood clot prevented blood loss. Moreover, scientists who took part in the examination of the headless bird found part of its spinal cord and ear intact.
The brain stem, which is responsible for motor function, was practically undamaged. That is why the bird had a chance for further life.
Peculiarities of everyday existence
Mike's caring owner did an excellent job. I fed him crushed corn kernels. I gave him milk diluted with water using a pipette.
The farmer also encountered some difficulties. From time to time, accumulated mucus entered the bird's trachea. Lloyd removed it with a syringe.
The chicken lived, got used to the new conditions of existence and began to feel more confident.
Mike the cockerel could sit on a perch for a long time and move awkwardly around the yard. He tried to preen his feathers and even crow. But he couldn't do it. The rooster's crow was comparable to something more like a gurgle.
The bird, which lived with the farmer for about a year and a half, even managed to gain 2.5 kilograms, mature and fledge.
Popularity
When Lloyd Olsen was interviewed, he described Mike as a healthy chicken, albeit without a head.
Residents of the same town remembered Mike as a happy and well-fed headless cockerel. In principle, he was exactly the same as his relatives.
And then the time came when the rooster had his finest hour. The owner of the bird went on a tour across the country to demonstrate the amazing pet.
Earnings
Lloyd Olsen began to make decent money from chicken. In less than 2 years, he made a fortune from it. The farmer's monthly profit was about 4.5 thousand dollars. At that time it was a lot of money.
At the show, each visitor, just to gaze at the miracle bird, paid Olsen 25 cents. And the editors of newspapers and magazines shelled out even more money for a photo of a chicken.
Lloyd Olsen also foresaw the possible death of the chicken. Therefore, I took out life insurance for his life in the amount of 10 thousand dollars.
How it all ended
About 18 months passed between the onset of headless Mike's new life and his death. During the tour, in the spring of 1947, the rooster died. By that time he already weighed 8 pounds (3.6 kg).
The tragic accident occurred due to the inability to remove food debris from the bird's esophagus. The owner simply could not find a syringe and clear the rooster’s throat in a timely manner. As a result of this, he suffocated.
The pride and landmark of the city of Fruita
Many people have tried to find out how long headless chickens can live and to carry out Lloyd's famous blow.
The unfortunate birds were chopped down several at a time, trying to exactly copy the actions of the happy farmer. They aimed as close to the head as possible. But all efforts did not bring the desired result.
Mike the Cockerel was not forgotten. To this day, in the city of Fruita, in honor of the celebrity who once lived here, folk festivals are held. The celebration falls on the 3rd Sunday of May.
A festival dedicated to Mike the Rooster is held. The program is rich: concerts, car shows, running competitions and other fun entertainment.
Headless Mike the Rooster (April 20, 1945 – March 17, 1947), also known as Wonder Mike, lived 18 months after his head was cut off. Although many believed the story to be a hoax, the bird's owner took him to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City to confirm the facts.
Mike, October 1945.
On September 10, 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen of Fruita, Colorado, planned to have chicken for dinner. Olsen chose a five-year-old rooster named Mike. Ax removed most head, but missed the jugular vein, leaving one ear and most of the brain stem intact.
Lloyd Olsen and his wife Clara on their farm in Fruita. Their name is famous in the city where the Olsen Headless Rooster Festival is held in 1945.
Due to Olsen's failed attempt to decapitate Mike, the rooster was still able to balance on the perch and walk awkwardly. He tried to preen himself and peck at food; his "scream" consisted of a gurgling sound in his throat. Before Mike died, Olsen decided to take care of the bird. He fed him a mixture of milk and water using a dropper and gave him small grains of corn and worms.
Mike was photographed for dozens of magazines and newspapers and put on public display for a 25-cent admission fee. At the height of its popularity, a rooster owner earned US$4,500 per month ($50,500 today); Mike was valued at $10,000.
Mike - a headless rooster "dancing" in 1945.
Mike stands on a lawnmower in Fruita, Colorado, 1945.
Mike in the barnyard with other chickens, 1945.
Mike resting in the grass in 1945.
In March 1947, at a motel stop in Phoenix while traveling from a tour, Mike began to choke in the middle of the night. He got a grain of corn in his throat. The Olsens couldn't save Mike. Olsen claimed to have sold the bird, leading to stories that Mike was still traveling around the country until 1949. Other sources report that the cockerel's severed trachea could not properly receive air to breathe, and so it suffocated.
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