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Chicken Hypnotism

en.wikipedia.org

11–20 of 49 posts

Re: Chicken Hypnotism

#11
post #9

Is this really a hypnosis or just some primal defense system that kicks in, like "snake ahead, freeze". I had a pet python and I know for a fact that snakes will only eat moving food, if you just leave a dead mouse snake will not touch it (same as frogs and many other lizards and amphibians). Pray needs to move to attract the interest. So if you don't want to get eaten by a snake the perfect defense is exactly this,…

It isn't real hypnosis. It is the brain being hit with unusual or overwhelming stimulus and is basically blue-screening, locking up the entire system until something kicks it out of the loop and causes a reboot. Similar things happen to sharks if you put them upside down, or to deer caught in headlights at night. Unable to process what is happening, their brains just lock up.

Drawing the line probably forces the chicken's eyes to follow the object out of its stereo vision. Birds have amazing stereo vision right in front of their faces (so they don't smash their beaks when pecking at things). Trying to track an object moving directly out of this space might be just unusual enough to cause a system crash.

Re: Chicken Hypnotism

#12
post #9

Is this really a hypnosis or just some primal defense system that kicks in, like "snake ahead, freeze". I had a pet python and I know for a fact that snakes will only eat moving food, if you just leave a dead mouse snake will not touch it (same as frogs and many other lizards and amphibians). Pray needs to move to attract the interest. So if you don't want to get eaten by a snake the perfect defense is exactly this,…

It isn't real hypnosis. It is the brain being hit with unusual or overwhelming stimulus and is basically blue-screening, locking up the entire system until something kicks it out of the loop and causes a reboot. Similar things happen to sharks if you put them upside down, or to deer caught in headlights at night. Unable to process what is happening, their brains just lock up. Drawing the line probably forces the chic…

Deer in headlights is probably a much simpler explanation - their eyes+pupils are adapted to the dim light, and sudden application of headlights is blinding.

If you were suddenly blinded, you probably wouldn't respond by running either.

Re: Chicken Hypnotism

#14
post #9

Is this really a hypnosis or just some primal defense system that kicks in, like "snake ahead, freeze". I had a pet python and I know for a fact that snakes will only eat moving food, if you just leave a dead mouse snake will not touch it (same as frogs and many other lizards and amphibians). Pray needs to move to attract the interest. So if you don't want to get eaten by a snake the perfect defense is exactly this,…

It isn't real hypnosis. It is the brain being hit with unusual or overwhelming stimulus and is basically blue-screening, locking up the entire system until something kicks it out of the loop and causes a reboot. Similar things happen to sharks if you put them upside down, or to deer caught in headlights at night. Unable to process what is happening, their brains just lock up. Drawing the line probably forces the chic…

It is definitely real hypnosis. The definition of hypnosis is so vague and nebulous that this absolutely falls within the umbrella of “hypnosis.” To be specific it is visual hypnosis.

Re: Chicken Hypnotism

#15
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It isn't real hypnosis. It is the brain being hit with unusual or overwhelming stimulus and is basically blue-screening, locking up the entire system until something kicks it out of the loop and causes a reboot. Similar things happen to sharks if you put them upside down, or to deer caught in headlights at night. Unable to process what is happening, their brains just lock up. Drawing the line probably forces the chic…

Deer in headlights is probably a much simpler explanation - their eyes+pupils are adapted to the dim light, and sudden application of headlights is blinding. If you were suddenly blinded, you probably wouldn't respond by running either.

It's more complex than that. If I shine a light at you in the dark it will hurt. You will close your eyes, look away or shield your face. The deer don't even blink, the most primitive response to bright light. They are transfixed like the chicken.

Re: Chicken Hypnotism

#16

This just moved "build henhouse" several steps up on my TODO list... Tempted to follow the spirit of this one: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/a-ufo-chicken-spac...

The chicken gravitron is full of flair, but to work gardening into the picture, I've settled on this for now:

http://www.bbqzoo.com/22-UFO-BBQ-COVER-UF22A.htm

https://www.backwoodshome.com/save-time-and-energy-with-the-...

Re: Chicken Hypnotism

#17
post #9

Is this really a hypnosis or just some primal defense system that kicks in, like "snake ahead, freeze". I had a pet python and I know for a fact that snakes will only eat moving food, if you just leave a dead mouse snake will not touch it (same as frogs and many other lizards and amphibians). Pray needs to move to attract the interest. So if you don't want to get eaten by a snake the perfect defense is exactly this,…

I once had a small flock of chickens, they were a hybrid with some Surinamese jungle fowl, jet black and as small as pigeons. They cheeped rather than squawking. They never laid any eggs, and were eventually all eaten by raccoons.

Anyway, one day I looked out the window and they had all frozen solid, like someone hit them with a "time stop" spell. So the capability is obviously a defensive adaptation.[0] Why it can be triggered by the given techniques is a bit mysterious though.

In humans though you can interrupt motor patterns and get hypnotic trance. The search term is "handshake interrupt", there are videos. I went to a hypnotherapist who used it with me, and I started cracking up because I recognized what was happening and almost wrecked it, but then I made a conscious decision to "go with it". (It's weird how many "levels" there are in the psyche: who was going into trance? who was cracking up? who decided to go with it? who was it that went into trance? "A trance is only as deep as you are." is a powerful spell to break out of trance. Why does it work?)

Be advised that there are roving gangs of hypnotists warring in the streets for your attention.

[0] It works too. A friend of mine and I were climbing the scree below a cliff when we came across a mother brown eagle and her nest. She spread her wings to cover the nest and froze. She was so still that even though I was staring right at her from about thirty feet away, with my binocular color-vision eyes and human brain, I still could barely see her.

We left her in peace.

Re: Chicken Hypnotism

#18
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Deer in headlights is probably a much simpler explanation - their eyes+pupils are adapted to the dim light, and sudden application of headlights is blinding. If you were suddenly blinded, you probably wouldn't respond by running either.

It's more complex than that. If I shine a light at you in the dark it will hurt. You will close your eyes, look away or shield your face. The deer don't even blink, the most primitive response to bright light. They are transfixed like the chicken.

Because looking away may lead to death.

When does a deer naturally get suddenly exposed to blinding light? Ignoring the response of "ah it's bright, look away" avoids false positives accidentally getting the deer killed. Actual positives never occurred during night time until humans developed artificial illumination.

Re: Chicken Hypnotism

#19

Related: what’s the verdict on cat scruffing? Does it work? Should you do it to adult cats?

For adult cats, you might want to also support their weight instead of holding them up just by the scruff. It definitely works though.

Re: Chicken Hypnotism

#20
By far the best part of the article:

> The United States military when trying to avoid divulging information gives reporters briefings with 25 minutes of intentionally dull PowerPoint presentations and 5 minutes left at the end for questions from anyone who is still awake. The presentations are called hypnotizing chickens.

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