Just in Time for Kaporos

I know I put it up last year, but . . .

The Strange but True story of:

MIRACLE MIKE

The Headless chicken

Taken from Wikipedia

The unfortunate incident

On Monday September 10, 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen of Fruita, Colorado, had his mother-in-law around for supper and was sent out to the yard by his wife to bring back a chicken. Olsen failed to completely decapitate the five-and-a-half month old bird, leaving one ear and most of the brain stem intact.

Not quite sure what to do with his by now loose head, on the first night after the decapitation Mike slept with it under his wing; it was this touching tenacity to life and the now redundant organ that convinced Olsen to reprieve Mike from the cooking pot.

Despite Olsen's botched handiwork, the by-now-headless Mike was still able to balance on a perch and walk clumsily; he even attempted to preen and crow, apparently not noticing that neither activity could be accomplished properly without a head. After the bird did not die, a surprised and no doubt guilty Mr. Olsen decided to continue to care permanently for Mike, feeding him a mixture of milk and water via an eyedropper; he was also fed small grains of corn. The unfortunate Mike occasionally choked on his own mucus, which the Olson family would clear using a syringe.

When used to his new and unusual center of mass Mike could easily get himself to the highest perches without falling. His crowing, though, was less impressive and consisted of a gurgling sound made in his throat, leaving him unable to crow at dawn.

Being headless did not stop Mike putting on weight; at the time of his beheading he weighed some 2 1/2 pounds and at the time of his death, this had increased to nearly 8.

More at Useless Information

And, if there was money to be made, there were also copycats. Other people in Mike's hometown began to chop the heads off of their own chickens in an attempt to get in on the scheme. One copycat headless rooster was named Lucky and he managed to live for eleven days before bashing himself into a stovepipe and dying (Lucky wasn't that lucky after all). Several other headless chickens lived for a couple of days. . . .

The exact date of Mike’s belated departure from this world was never recorded.  Years later, it was estimated, based on Lloyd’s information, that Miracle Mike died in March of 1947.  Eighteen months living without a head could be considered a world’s record.  Yet, Lloyd didn’t want to admit that he had accidentally killed the bird, so he claimed that he had sold the bird off.  This little white lie is the reason that many of the stories printed about Mike claimed that he was still touring the country as late as 1949.

G'mar Chasima Tova!
May we all be sealed for a sweet year, with blessings in all matters, and the greatest blessing for all . . . Moshiach!