On September 10, 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen of
Fruita, Colorado,
United States, was planning to eat supper with his mother-in-law and was sent out to the yard by his wife to bring back a chicken. Olsen chose a five-and-a-half-month-old
Wyandotte chicken named Mike. The axe removed the bulk of the head, but missed the
jugular vein, leaving one ear and most of the
brain stem intact.
[2][3][4]
Despite Olsen's attempt to behead Mike, the chicken could still balance on a perch and walk clumsily. It attempted to
preen, peck for food, and crow, though with limited success; his "crowing" consisted of a gurgling sound made in his throat.
[2] When Mike did not die, Olsen decided to care for the bird. He fed it a mixture of milk and water via an eyedropper and gave it small grains of corn and worms.
[2][5]
Fame
Once his fame had been established, Mike began a career of touring
sideshows in the company of such other anomalies as a two-headed baby. It was also photographed for dozens of magazines and papers, and was featured in
Time and
Life magazines.
[2] Mike was put on display to the public for an admission cost of 25 cents (equivalent to $3 in 2023). At the height of his popularity, the chicken's owner earned $4,500 per month (equivalent to $61,400 in 2023);
[6] Mike was valued at $10,000 (equivalent to $136,500 in 2023).
[2]
Death
In March 1947, at a
motel in
Phoenix, Arizona on a stopover while traveling back from tour, Mike started choking on his mucus in the middle of the night.
[4][7] The Olsens had inadvertently left their feeding and cleaning syringes at the sideshow the day before, and so were unable to save Mike. Olsen claimed that he had sold the bird off, resulting in stories of Mike still touring the country as late as 1949. Other sources say that the chicken's severed
trachea could not properly take in enough air to be able to breathe, and he therefore choked to death in the motel.
[7]
Explanation of the case
It was determined that the axe had missed the
jugular vein[8] and a
clot had prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Although most of his head was severed, most of his
brain stem and one ear were left on his body. Since basic functions (breathing, heart rate, etc.) as well as most of a chicken's reflex actions are controlled by the brain stem, Mike was able to remain quite healthy.
