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LiveScience
LiveScience
Ashley P. Taylor

Can chickens really run around with their heads cut off?

A brown rooster with a red comb on his head looks to the right of the camera. He stands in a fenced in area with other chickens blurry in the background.

Many chickens meet their end with a swift blow to the neck. But there's lore that chickens can run around headless, and there were even news reports of a chicken nicknamed Miracle Mike who reportedly lived 18 months after a farmer tried ‪—‬ and failed ‪—‬ to kill it by cutting off its head.

So can chickens really survive without their heads?

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