a chicken can be hypnotized, or put into a trance, by holding its head down against the ground, and drawing a line along the ground with a stick or a finger, starting at the 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. ethologists refer to this state as 'tonic immobility' i.e. a natural state of semi-paralysis that some animals enter when presented with a threat,gallup, g.g., jr., nash, r.f., potter, r.j. and donegan, n.h., (1970). effect of varying conditions of fear on immobility reactions in domestic chickens (gallus gullus). journal of comparative and physiological psychology, 73: 442-445gallup, g.g., jr., (1979). tonic immobility as a measure of fear in the domestic fowl. animal behaviour, 27: 316-317jones, b. and faure, j.m. (1981). tonic immobility ("righting time") in laying hens housed in cages and pens. applied animal ethology 7: 369-372 which is probably a defensive mechanism intended to feign death, albeit rather poorly.http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/cgi/reprint/36/3/199.pdf the first known written reference for this method came in 1646, in mirabele experimentum de imaginatione gallinae by athanasius kircher in rome. ==methods== one technique of hypnosis is to hold the chicken face up with its back on the ground, and then run a finger 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. clapping hands or giving the chicken a gentle shove will awaken it. one can also hypnotize a chicken by mimicking how it sleeps - with its head under its wing. in this method, 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.http://howtodohypnosis.com/hypnosis-fun/how-to-hypnotise-a-chicken 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.http://hypnoticworld.com/experimintal/animal_hypnosis.asp ==notable people who have discussed chicken hypnotism== * helmut kohl, german statesman. herr kohl's preferred method seems to be similar to that used by werner herzog, he used "a line drawn by chalk". (stern magazine, 13 september 1996) * al gore, former u.s. vice-president, nobel peace prize winner and ex-presidential candidate. mr. gore's technique consisted of drawing circles around the chicken's head.http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2000/03/24/loc_gore_does_chicken.html * [[werner herzo
Chicken Hypnosis