History

Mike the Headless Chicken

What is the story of Fruita’s “headless chicken”?  
Mike is a chicken who lived for 18 months without a head after escaping the fate of becoming dinner.  

It all started with the Olsen family, who were farmers living in Fruita, Colorado in September of 1945.  During the 40’s many farmers supplemented their rations with selling eggs, milk, chicken, and preserving food.  The Olsens were no different and were preparing a batch of 40-50 chickens for market.  Lloyd would cut heads and Clara would pluck and clean the chickens.  It is not uncommon for a chicken to flop or stagger for a few minutes after beheading, but one young rooster was still alive after processing of chickens was done for the day.  When Lloyd realized that one of the chickens was still alive the next morning, he decided to see if he could keep it alive.  Before long, word spread around the neighborhood and local folks were coming by to see the headless chicken at the Olsen farm.  

A promoter named Hope Wade heard about the famous chicken and came by to see it.  He convinced the 
Olsens to take the chicken over to the University of Utah in Salt Lake to see if scientists could document that there truly was a “headless chicken” living in Fruita, Colorado.  Scientists determined that part of one ear, the jugular vein, and the base of the brain that controls motor functions were left intact allowing Mike to continue to live on.  Local papers in Salt Lake were spreading the news that a chicken was alive without a head and in their town for a visit.  Folks wanted to see the famous fowl and a small side show was set up in Salt Lake.  Before long, Life magazine came out to Salt Lake to take photos that would be featured in the magazine in October 22, 1945. Only a month and a half after Mike’s beheading, he was featured in one of the country’s most prominent magazines! 

Mike’s next stop was a sideshow attraction on the boardwalk in Long Beach, California.  The boardwalk was a popular attraction with wartime troops and Mike was well received.  As Lloyd Olsen put it “When the big ships would come in those sailors would flock to see Mike.”.  A ticket to see Mike at the sideshow was $0.25 (the equivalent of about $2.50 today) and there are estimates that at his peak, Mike was drawing in up to 600 people a day.  In his life, Mike not only graced the sideshow of Long Beach but also went to Phoenix, Arizona and the Southeast USA.  

Mike continued to grow as a normal chicken would and spent time on the farm with the rest of the flock.  Mike would come back to the Fruita farm between attractions for periods of up to a month or two.  The story of Mike brought many letters to the small town of Fruita, Colorado.  The Olsens and the mayor of Fruita often had full mailboxes with the varied opinions of citizens interested in Mike.  The country was fascinated with Mike and he continued to impress audiences via magazine, newspaper, and at side shows until his untimely demise.  Clara Olsen was a thorough documenter of Mike the Headless Chicken including the included photos, ticket stubs, letters and more that were put into the “Mike Scrapbook” owned by the family.  The scrapbook has been used for countless interviews with the press and used to create the book The Official Mike the Headless Chicken Book by Teri Thomas.  

Lloyd with Mike

How did Mike die?  
Mike’s death was shrouded in mystery for many years.  There are accounts that Mike was sold to another promoter and was still making the rounds of sideshows continuing to impress audiences.  Later in life, Lloyd Olsen admitted that Mike had passed on in the spring of 1947 and that the story of him being sold was false.  Mike’s true death was due to an accident.  Mike would sometimes start choking on mucus and needed assistance in clearing out his throat.  Lloyd and Hope would keep a small bulb syringe around whenever they were on tour with Mike to stick down his esophagus and clear the throat.  While Mike was down in Phoenix at a sideshow, they all went back to the motel room to rest up for another big day of viewing.  At the motel room Mike started to choke but Hope and Lloyd had accidentally left the bulb syringe back at the sideshow.  Before they were able to find another apparatus to clear the throat, Mike died, after having lived 18 months without a head.  

The true story of the death of Mike didn’t surface until the 1980’s when Lloyd told the story to his grandson, Troy Waters.  After all the work to keep Mike alive, Lloyd was nervous to tell folks back home that the “goose that laid the golden egg” had passed on.  The story told before the 1980’s that Mike had been sold to another outfit to show him at sideshows turned out to be false.  

Mike with Car

Now, Mike's spirit is celebrated every year at the Mike the Headless Chicken Festival the first weekend in June.