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 Olson to reprieve Mike from the cooking pot.

His crowing, though, was less impressive and consisted of a gurgling sound made in his throat, leaving him unable to crow at dawn.

A pickled chicken head was also on display with Mike, but it was not Mike's original head as a cat had already eaten it.