Then
the determined bird shook off the traumatic event and never looked
back. Mike (it is unclear when the famous rooster took on the name)
returned to his job of being a chicken. He pecked for food and preened
his feathers just like the rest of his barnyard buddies.
Then the determined bird shook off the traumatic event and never looked back. Mike (it is unclear when the famous rooster took on the name) returned to his job of being a chicken. He pecked for food and preened his feathers just like the rest of his barnyard buddies.
Then the determined bird shook off the traumatic event and never looked back. Mike (it is unclear when the famous rooster took on the name) returned to his job of being a chicken. He pecked for food and preened his feathers just like the rest of his barnyard buddies.
When
Olsen found Mike the next morning, sleeping with his "head" under his
wing, he decided that if Mike had that much will to live, he would
figure out a way to feed and water him. With an eyedropper Mike was
given grain and water. It was becoming obvious that Mike was special. A
week into Mike's new life Olsen packed him up and took him 250 miles
to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City .
The skeptical scientists were eager to answer all the questions
regarding Mike's amazing ability to survive with no head. It was
determined that ax blade had missed the jugular vein and a clot had
prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Although most of his head was in a
jar, most of his brain stem and one ear was left on his body. Since
most of a chicken's reflex actions are controlled by the brain stem Mike
was able to remain quite healthy.
In the 18 MONTHS that Mike lived as "The Headless Wonder Chicken" he grew from a mere 2 1/2 lbs. to nearly 8 lbs. In a Gayle Meyer interview Olsen said Mike was a "robust chicken – a fine specimen of a chicken except for not having a head." Some longtime Fruita residents, gathered at the Monument Cafe for coffee, also remember Mike – "he was a big fat chicken who didn't know he didn't have a head" – "he seemed as happy as any other chicken." Mike's excellent state of health made it difficult for animal-rights activists to garner much of a following. Even now the town of Fruita celebrates Mike's impressive will to live, not the nature of his handicap. Miracle Mike took on a manager, and with the Olsens in tow, set out on a national tour. Curious sideshow patrons in New York , Atlantic City , Los Angeles, and San Diego lined up to pay 25 cents to see Mike.
In the 18 MONTHS that Mike lived as "The Headless Wonder Chicken" he grew from a mere 2 1/2 lbs. to nearly 8 lbs. In a Gayle Meyer interview Olsen said Mike was a "robust chicken – a fine specimen of a chicken except for not having a head." Some longtime Fruita residents, gathered at the Monument Cafe for coffee, also remember Mike – "he was a big fat chicken who didn't know he didn't have a head" – "he seemed as happy as any other chicken." Mike's excellent state of health made it difficult for animal-rights activists to garner much of a following. Even now the town of Fruita celebrates Mike's impressive will to live, not the nature of his handicap. Miracle Mike took on a manager, and with the Olsens in tow, set out on a national tour. Curious sideshow patrons in New York , Atlantic City , Los Angeles, and San Diego lined up to pay 25 cents to see Mike.
The
"Wonder Chicken" was valued at $10,000.00 and insured for the same.
His fame and fortune would earn him recognition in Life and Time
Magazines. It goes without saying there was a Guinness World Record in
all this. While returning from one of these road trips the Olsens
stopped at a motel in the Arizona desert. In the middle of the night
Mike began to choke. Unable to find the eyedropper used to clear Mike's
open esophagus Miracle Mike passed on.
Hope Wade, a promoter who took Mike on the road and charged money for folks to take a look, holds Mike the headless chicken, Fruita, Colorado, 1945. Promoter Hope Wade holds Mike the headless chicken's formerly useful noggin, as if attempting to reintroduce the bird to its lost self, in 1945. (Some reports, however, claim that the Olsons' cat ate Mike's head, and that another rooster's head stood in for Mike's during his brief brush with fame.
Hope Wade, a promoter who took Mike on the road and charged money for folks to take a look, holds Mike the headless chicken, Fruita, Colorado, 1945. Promoter Hope Wade holds Mike the headless chicken's formerly useful noggin, as if attempting to reintroduce the bird to its lost self, in 1945. (Some reports, however, claim that the Olsons' cat ate Mike's head, and that another rooster's head stood in for Mike's during his brief brush with fame.
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