Why do beheaded chickens run around

Soon, Mike's fame spread further, and he died in while he was on national tour. Occasionally, fluid would gather in his throat and need to be cleared; his owners had lost the tool they usually used to do the job. Mike choked to death on his own spit—and was finally still. Colin Schultz is a freelance science writer and editor based in Toronto, Canada. He has a B. A different Wyandotte chicken, this one still with head firmly attached.

The same applies to many other animals, including the turtle, which continues swimming even though its head has come off. The animals can do this because a neural network in the spinal cord is pre-programmed to direct the muscles in various frequently used movement patterns such as running or swimming. Despite intense research into how the body, the brain and the nervous system works, scientists still do not have a clear picture of how nerve cells communicate to perform certain movements.

The turtle frequently uses swimming movements, so it makes sense for it to have a neural network in the spinal cord pre-programmed to perform swimming movements when the nerve cells are stimulated. This means that the nerve cells do not need specific signals from the brain to prompt a coordinated activation of the muscles required to perform a swimming stroke.

As long as the neural network is generally stimulated for movement, it is already pre-programmed to activate some specific muscles to perform the swimming strokes in coordination. This makes it much simpler and easier for the brain to send movement impulses down the spinal cord.

The network probably does not even need a very specific signal to perform the movement as long as the activation is similar to its preferred input. The process can be compared with a hole on a golf course, which is surrounded by a hollow that leads all balls down into the hole. If a player hits a ball near the hole, the ball will roll into the hole. Reports indicate that Mike's beak, face, eyes and an ear were removed with the hatchet blow.

It was suggested at the time that Mike survived the blow because part or all of the brain stem remained attached to his body. Since then science has evolved, and what was then called the brain stem has been found to be part of the brain proper. Why those who tried to create a Mike of their own did not succeed is hard to explain.

It seems the cut, in Mike's case, came in just the right place, and a timely blood clot luckily prevented him bleeding to death. Troy Waters suspects that his great-grandfather tried to replicate his success with the hatchet a few times. Certainly, others did. A neighbour who lived up the road would buy up any chickens for sale at an auction in nearby Grand Junction, Colorado, and stop by the family farm with a six-pack of beer for Olsen, to persuade him to explain exactly how he did it.

But according to Waters, that was an exaggeration. He bought a hay baler and two tractors, replacing his horse and mule. And also - a bit of a luxury - a Chevrolet pickup truck. Waters once asked Lloyd Olsen if he had fun. I was able to modernise and have farm equipment. Rebecca Katzman. Why a chicken can run around with its head cut off. Sign up for your Modern Farmer Weekly Newsletter. Notify of. Most Voted Newest Oldest. Inline Feedbacks. Why would they keep that chicken alive after cutting off its head though.

View Replies 8. Jambes Marks. View Replies 6. View Replies 2. Its not possible if u gonna axe off a chicken head completely u gonna cut d jungular vein too.