September 10, 1945. Rooster Mike: The Beginning of a Second Life. Farmer Lloyd Olsen was waiting for his mother-in-law to arrive. In Colorado, it was customary to honor the parents, so together with his wife they decided to make a good dinner in honor of her visit. And of course, what is a table without a baked bird? Moreover, the spouse's mother loved chicken necks so much! Lloyd, clutching an ax in his hand, headed for the chicken coop. Today the choice fell on a cock named Mike. Olsen, as a farmer, repeatedly carried out the decapitation procedure, so he confidently chopped with an ax, trying to beat as close to the base of the skull as possible, leaving most of the cock's neck.
Lloyd knew that after the chicken chopped off its head, it could still 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 “poked over his forehead”: after a series of chaotic movements, Mike's cock, as if nothing had happened, returned to its previous life: trying to peck grain, clean feathers. Having recovered from the shock and laughing, Olsen decided to leave Mike alone, taking another cock as the “victim”. What was his surprise when the next morning he found a sleeping headless bird with a stump under its wing in the chicken coop …
Since then, Lloyd has vowed to care for the rooster, every day more and more amazed at the duration of the second abnormal life given to Mike.
Headless, but famous!
Rooster Mike continued to live, and Olsen assiduously helped him in this: he fed from a pipette milk, small grains of corn. He pushed all the food right into his neck. After some time, the farmer thought it was unfair to hide such a miracle from prying eyes. He put his headless pet in the car and went to the University of Colorado, seeking comment on such an existence. Scientists, examining the “victim”, gave the following explanations: the ax blade went very well without touching the carotid artery, and the blood clot blocked the wreath, thereby saving the bird from blood loss. Most importantly, most of the spinal cord, which is responsible for most of the reflexes of the rooster, has survived. By the way, one ear remained intact, so his life was not so boring!
Meanwhile, Mike's headless rooster continued to live, recover and lean. At one point, the farmer decided to amuse the people with the help of his bird and earn money on it. And he went on a tour of the country. People lined up to look at the miracle bird, laying out 25 cents for this spectacle. Mike gained great fame thanks to publications in various magazines, the Guinness book. As a result, its price was determined at $ 10, 000.
The 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 manage to find a pipette to clear his throat.
The sensational story about the “Amazing Chicken” made such a strong impression on all farmers in the country that many of them tried to repeat the “feat” of Olsen, chopping the heads of dozens of hens. But all in vain - no one succeeded in such a second Mike.
