How To Hypnotize a Chicken

Anyone who's spent a lot of time on a farm with chickens is probably familiar with this trick. Those who've never heard of this will be amazed to see a chicken lie perfectly still after these instructions are followed. No one quite knows how or why this works, but it's fun to watch, and it can even be useful if you need to keep a chicken in one spot for a minute while you go do something else.

Step 1  

Find a flat surface such as a sidewalk. You'll need a piece of chalk and a chicken. You can also do it on bare earth using a stick in a pinch.

Step 2  

Hold the chicken in one hand by both feet and place it down so that its breast is carrying its weight and rests on the sidewalk. Its head/beak will therefore also be on the sidewalk, since you continue to hold its feet.

Step 3  

Wave the chalk in front of the chicken to get its attention. Draw a line 12" to 18" STRAIGHT OUTWARD from the end of the chicken's beak. If using bare earth or ground, use a stick to draw the line, or maybe your finger.

Step 4  

The chicken will be hypnotized and cease to struggle. If you release its legs, it'll just lie there, transfixed by the straight line for a time. Eventually, the chicken will "come to" and stagger off.

Tips

• When hypnotizing the chicken, grab her neck so you can control where the chicken looks, in this case at the line on the ground.
• Clap your hands so the chicken "wakes up".
• There are other ways to hypnotize the chicken. You have to put the chicken's head under her wing and move her in circles for about 20 seconds before and after you draw the line.

Warnings

• The chicken may not wake up if hands are not clapped. This could be harmful to the chicken, so never do it for too long or in a way other than in the instructions.

Things You'll Need

• Chalk; sidewalk;
• Ground/ bare earth; stick or you may use your finger;
• Chicken of course.