Original sentence: Being headless did not keep Mike from putting on weight; at the time of his beheading he weighed two and a half pounds, but at the time of his death this had increased to nearly eight.Despite Olsen's botched handiwork, the by-now-headless Mike was still able to balance on a perch and walk clumsily; he even attempted to preen and crow, although he could do neither.Lloyd Olsen claimed that he had sold the bird off, resulting in stories of Mike still touring the country as late as 1949.Mike occasionally choked on his own mucus, which the Olsen family would clear using a syringe.Mike was on display to the public for an admission cost of 25 cents.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 that convinced Olsen to reprieve Mike from the cooking pot
Edited sentence: Being headless did not stop Mike putting on weight; at the time of his beheading he weighed some 2½ pounds and at the time of his death, this had increased to nearly 8.Despite Olsen's botched handiwork, the by-now-headless Mike was still able to balance on a perch and walk clumsily; he even attempted to preen and crow, apparently not noticing that neither activity could be accomplished properly without a head.For reasons best known to himself, although possibly for financial reasons, Lloyd Olsen claimed that he had sold the bird off, resulting in stories of Mike still touring the country as late as 1949.Mike was on display to the public for an admission cost of 25 cents.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 Olsen to reprieve Mike from the cooking pot.The unfortunate Mike occasionally choked on his own mucus, which the Olsen family would clear using a syringe