This is one of the weirdest true stories in the history of chickens.
You may not believe it — but once, there was a chicken who got his head chopped off... and kept on living.
Meet: Mike the Headless Chicken.
In 1945, a farmer in Colorado chopped off a chicken’s head for dinner (as farmers did back then). But somehow… the chicken didn’t die.
Instead of falling over, the bird got up and kept walking. It could even balance, hop up on a perch, and try to peck for food.
That chicken’s name?
Mike.
Turns out, when the farmer swung the axe, he missed most of Mike’s brain! (Chickens’ brains are partly in the back of their necks.)
Mike still had enough brain stem to control basic body functions: breathing, walking, and flapping.
The farmer realized Mike wasn’t going to die… so he started feeding him with an eyedropper — straight into his throat!
They gave him water, cornmeal, and milk.
And Mike the Chicken lived for 18 whole months without a head!
People didn’t believe the story at first, so the farmer took Mike on tour around the U.S. as “The Headless Wonder Chicken.”
Mike earned his owner lots of money.
He was featured in magazines and newspapers.
Scientists studied him and confirmed it: Mike was very real.
Today, the town of Fruita, Colorado still celebrates “Mike the Headless Chicken Day” every year. There's even a statue of him!
He lived longer without his head than most chickens do with one.
He had to be fed and cleaned every day — carefully!
He inspired books, songs, and a museum exhibit.
Life is full of weird surprises.
Never underestimate a chicken.
Sometimes, you just need to keep going… no matter how wild things get.
So the next time someone says, “You’re running around like a headless chicken,”
you can say: “Actually, Mike the chicken did just fine.”