CHICKEN HYPNOSIS - Real or myth? We couldn't resist trying this out with the Epic Chickens, but couldn't get it to work! Upon further research, it seems like the "magnetic hypnosis" response is actually something called "tonic immobility", aka "Playing Dead." It's a defensive mechanism in animals when presented with a threat. Common in animals like opossums, grass snakes, and small birds. Apparently chickens perceive the movement of the sand as a sign of a predator, OR perhaps the position they'