Australian 76-year-old woman pecked to death by rooster, experts says to treat the ‘aggressive alpha chicken’ with ‘respect’
An Australian woman in Australia died after a rooster pecked her leg, puncturing a varicose vein that hemorrhaged and caused her death.
A study published in late August in the journal Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology noting the attack which occurred while the 76-year-old woman was gathering eggs from her rural property.
photo normanack via Flickr
An autopsy revealed two small lacerations on her leg, one of which was over a large varicose vein. Doctors concluded that the woman died from “exsanguination” due to bleeding from a varicose vein following the rooster attack.
She was previously diagnosed with hypertension, type II diabetes and varicose veins.
“Even relatively small domestic animals may be able to inflict lethal injuries in individuals if there are specific vascular vulnerabilities present,” said the report.
Professor Roger Byard at the University of Adelaide in Adelaide, Australia, who co-authored the study with Judith Fronczek, said that this freak incident shows “how vulnerable the elderly are.”
“It draws attention to the vulnerability of elderly folk with varicose veins to minor trauma, even from a rooster peck,” Byard told USA TODAY. “Lethal rooster attacks are very rare, but small animals can cause death from trauma.”
Dr. Dianna Bourassa, an assistant professor of poultry sciences at Auburn University, advises cautionary measures when dealing with an aggressive alpha chicken.
Bourassa continued, advising people that they can grab the chicken by the leg and cradle it under their arm to establish dominance. It won’t harm the chicken.
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