Strange News Sunday: Mike The Chicken

Have you ever heard the legend of Mike The Headless Chicken? I had never in my 41 years heard of it until the other day when my dad brought it up to me, so I thought I’d have some fun looking it up.

And damn, if it wasn’t true.

Back in 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen and his wife Clara were killing and cleaning chickens to eat on their farm in Fruita, Colorado. He’d chop the head off and she would clean it. Of the 40 or 50 they killed, one continued to run around. The saying, “running around like a chicken with its head cut off” is a true saying, because chickens will do that. But usually only for a few minutes.

Not Mike. He ran around, and continued running around for 18 months.