Chicken hypnotism

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A chicken can be hypnotized, or put into a trance, by holding its head down against the ground, and continuously drawing a line along the ground with a stick or a finger, starting at its beak and extending straight outward in front of the chicken. If the chicken is hypnotized in this manner, it will remain immobile for somewhere between 15 seconds and 30 minutes, continuing to stare at the line.

This technique is useful for farmers who need to slaughter a chicken and do not have help immediately available. It is also useful in feeding large pet reptiles who are too slow to catch a moving chicken.

The first known written reference for this method came in 1646, in Mirabile Experimentum de Imaginatione Gallinae by Athanasius Kircher.

Another technique of hypnosis is to hold the chicken face up with his/her back on the ground, and then run your finger vertically downwards from the chicken's wattles to just above its vent. The chicken's feet are exposed, which allows easy application of medication for foot mites, etc. To wake up the chicken, clap your hands or give the chicken a gentle shove.

One can also hypnotize a chicken by mimicking how it sleeps - with its head under its wing. In this method, you hold the bird firmly, placing its head under its wing, then, gently rock the chicken back and forth and set it very carefully on the ground. It should stay in the same position for about 30 seconds.[1]

H B Gibson, in his book Hypnosis - its Nature and Therapeutic Uses, states that the record period for a chicken remaining in hypnosis is 3 hours 47 minutes. [2]

1 Notable people who have discussed their hypnotizing of chickens
2 Cultural references
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Notable people who have discussed their hypnotizing of chickens

Helmut Kohl, German statesman. Herr Kohl's preferred method remains uncertain. (Stern magazine, 13 September 1996)
Al Gore, former U.S. vice-president. Mr Gore appears to have a non-orthodox technique, consisting of drawing imaginary circles around the chicken's head [3].
Steve Fairnie, 1980s British musician: "You have to dominate the chicken and be right above it staring into its eyes. Then it will either go under or it will attack you, so you have to be a bit careful..." (Fan-club magazine, 1983)
Adam Savage, in the Mythbusters Revealed special is briefly seen hypnotising a chicken.

[edit] Cultural references

Werner Herzog's 1974 film The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser features a scene in which a chicken is hypnotized by a line drawn by chalk.
Federico Fellini's 1984 And the Ship Sails On features a scene in which a male opera singer hypnotises a chicken in his cabin.
Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" includes the line "I've been hurting since I bought the gimmick/About something called love ... Well, that's like hypnotizing chickens."
In E. Nesbit's book The House of Arden an old woman says that she has left a chicken in this state.
In Bryce Courtenay's book The Power of One the witch-doctor Inkosi Inkosikasi uses this trick, though it is viewed as magic, and not as hypnotism.