How to Hypnotize a Chicken

Intro: How to Hypnotize a Chicken

Why, you may ask, would one WANT to hypnotize a chicken?  You, sir or madam, are asking the wrong question.  The answer to that one is of course, "Why wouldn't you want to hypnotize a chicken!?"  The interrobang is required in that sentence.

The correct question is "How can I be a part of this grand experiment?"  The answer, my friends, is contained herein.  

First, a video demonstration:

STEP 1: Gather Materials

To explore this bizarre phenomenon, you will need:

1. A chicken
2. A stick
3. Some help, as this is a two person job
4. Some drinks wouldn't hurt, and would probably add to your enjoyment of the next step.

STEP 2: Catch a Chicken

My brother keeps a few hens, but this turned out to be more difficult than I imagined.  After spending half an hour alternately running and sneaking around his yard, making weird little cooing noises at these ridiculous birds, we were flummoxed.  Eventually, Ted lured them back into the coop with food and then reached in through the back door to grab one by the legs.  Why didn't he do this the first time, before releasing them?  I do not know.

STEP 3: Lay the Chicken on Its Side

Hold the chicken on its side in a bare patch of dirt.  The important part here is to hold its head down to the ground.

STEP 4: Draw a Line

Making quick movements with a small twig, draw a line about a foot long away from the chicken's head.

STEP 5: Observe in Awe!

If all has gone well, the chicken will remain staring at the line for 15-30 seconds!  Voila, you have hypnotized a chicken!

STEP 6: Wait, What Just Happened?

Well, I'm not exactly sure.  I am no biologist.  According to the wikipedia page on chicken hypnotism, this is a similar phenomenon to a deer freezing when hit by a strong beam of light; it's an attempt to avoid a predator by pretending to be dead.  I suspect that's right, chickens are both extremely stupid and very skittish, so this sort of massive overreaction just seems in line with my (admittedly limited) experience with chickens.

STEP 7: Final Thoughts

Thanks for taking the time to read about my exploits.

I had seen a video about this on youtube about a year ago, and my brother and I have been talking about seeing if it is real ever since.  We took the time this weekend to find out, and lo and behold, it was true!  

Have you ever hypnotized a chicken?  If so, post a video link in the comments below so we can see, and I'll send you an electronic patch for your profile!

Please take a minute to rate, subscribe, comment and follow me on facebook, I love hearing back from people and I've always got lots more in the works!

**** Update 4/6/12:  Thanks to everyone who's mentioned in the comments that this brings back fond memories of childhood or farm life!  I'm glad my humble little instructable could spark recollections of good times.

Comments

[Michael_Bell]

Sorry about the bad quality, Also it would be useful to have a second person to hold the camera

[depotdevoid]

Nice! Thanks for sharing, patch is on the way!

[mossoleander]

DO NOT DO THIS TO YOUR CHICKENS! This is called tonic immobility and it’s a fear reaction. It’s a state of forced paralysis and causes immense amounts of stress to a bird. Furthermore, chickens are not stupid and have been shown to exhibit incredible intelligence. They can be trained to do tricks, recognize faces, and can even perceive time passing.

[mossoleander]

Also, never EVER hold a chicken by its legs. It’s comparable to holding a rabbit by its ears, meaning it’s VERY painful and stresses the animal out more.

[Jayden S.B]

I understand that this was made forever ago, but I would like to point out that you were slightly cruel to the chicken. I am not criticizing, but I love animals. Chickens are fairly dumb, and that is the way they are usually treated. Very nice instructable!

[Barbara Pevafersa]

my friend does this on his farm all the time!

[curly gurly]

I've done it before, but you don't need a stick, you can just use your finger.

[pmuhammad dwi]

try flip their head between one of their wings...
then hold your chicken by both hands in both side of their wings which still flip their head, and move it gently around...

sorry for bad english :D

[depotdevoid]

Dang, I'd love to try that, but my brother finally got rid of all his chickens!

[fancypants23]

well il be blanged, you actually can hypnotize a chicken!

[fastrat2000]

I use to do some thing like this as kid, its not hard, we flip the chicken over then take finger point at the chicken and move it in and out, you want chicken to look at it, move in so it cross its eyes this seems short something out in its head and it start closing its eyes if get your finger in right spot for bit ( that sounds bad) it will fall a sleep, lay it on ground and it stay for some time or someone or something make loud sound or moves it

[pocketxgirl]

I just wanted to say that I have chickens and they're actually pretty smart. I don't know if it's the particular breeds that I have (Modern Game BBs, Americaunas, Cochins, Buttercups, Silkies), but they all know their names, come when you call them, and go into the coops when you tell them it's "time for bed."

Of course, we DID hand raise them with tons of human interaction, so maybe that's it. And please don't flame me, I'm sure there are some really stupid ones, too. I'm just saying that they aren't all idiots. :)

[NAiMA79]

no it's true, they are smart indeed! a friend of mine used to keep one as a pet and the hen acted just like a dog, waiting for him, calling for him and following him around, responsively playing and constantly interacting with him and his family! the chicken could even find its way home from non-familiar premises: it used to follow the guy around when he was walking around the block and when the chicken got tired he made its way home alone, ha! :D i have no idea which breed could that chicken belong to though.

[depotdevoid]

I believe the varieties my brother keeps are Leghorns and Americanas, I don't know how they stack up as far as smarts.

I bet you're right though, all that human interaction must make a big difference. Ted's chickens are out in the yard with the family all the time, but they don't interact with them like pets or anything. They do chase the cat a lot, he's terrified of them!

And hey, no flames here! Expressing your opinion rationally, reasonably, and politely (as you've done) is always encouraged in my comments sections. My personal experience with chickens is pretty limited, I only have my brother's chickens and hearsay to go on.

[1000%]

I did the same thing with a Guinea baby not to be confused with guinea pigs

[Knex.X]

Does roasted chicken count too?

[depotdevoid]

Not too much of a challenge to get that to sit still . . .

[sdhardie]

What you're actually doing is sending the poor thing into a panic. It thinks it's going to die, so its body begins producing stress chemicals to dull the impending pain. This is a really horrible Instructable. Not funny at all.

[Hangfire]

Vegetarian much?

[sdhardie]

No, but what on earth does that have to do with anything? I just don't think scaring innocent animals to the point that they think they are going to die is something that should be featured on Instructables. Chickens are really fun to have around for a lot of reasons, but scaring them half to death shouldn't be one of them.