Mike the Headless Chicken Sculpture – Fruita, Colorado
Ever heard of the headless chicken? Well, actually there was one that lived for 18 months in the 1940’s when Lloyd Olsen, who, in an attempt to please his finicky mother-in-law, lopped off the chickens head at the base of the skull, intending to leave as much of the neck as possible. The strangest thing that happened is that following his beheading, the chicken (Mike) fluffed up his feathers and continued life as a normal chicken – minus his head.
Of course he could only go through the notions of pecking for food, and when he tried to crow, a gurgle came out. Olsen started putting feed and water directly into Mike’s gullet with an eyedropper when he was still alive the next morning. Now, being concerned about how this could happen, Olsen took the chicken to the University of Utah scientists. They theorized the chicken (Mike) had enough of a brain stem left to live headless.
He headless chicken was taken on tour around the country and pictured in a Life magazine and of course, was listed in the Guinness Book of Records. He was a popular attraction until he choked to death on a kernel of corn in an Arizona motel.
Mike has been memorialized in metal by artist Lyle Nichols, who grew up in Fruita. "I made him proud-looking and cocky," said Nichols, who noted with a laugh that he gave the Fruita chamber a discount on the piece because it didn’t have a head.
On the corner of Mulberry and Aspen in Fruita is a statue of Mike, maybe five feet tall. But it is an "artistic" rendition, made of old metal implements like horse shoes and hand tools.
The Mike The Headless Chicken Festival is held annually.
No related posts.
About Editor