June 12, 2009 Grand Junction, Colorado

Mike the Headless Chicken

We started the day with a trip to Fruita, CO just down the road from Grand Junction. Back in the 1940’s, a guy went out to dispatch his chicken for dinner but fortunately or unfortunately cut his head off in such a way that the chicken’s brain stem was still engaged. Mike the Headless chicken did not die and went on to live for another 18 months living a semi-normal chicken life. Normal, that is, if you consider that he was eyedropper fed and traveled about the country where people could get a look at him for $0.25. The town of Fruita has a celebration in Mike’s name every spring and the statue is quite unique being made of leftover wrenches and other tools.

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