An Elderly Australian Woman Was Pecked to Death by a Rooster at Her Own Farm, Researchers Say

A rooster pecked an Australian woman to death while she was collecting eggs on her farm, a medical journal reported.

The small animal caused harm by attacking the 76-year-old woman’s swollen leg veins, according to the study by University of Adelaide pathology professor Roger Byard and Netherlands Forensic Institute pathologist Judith Fronczek, as obtained by NBC News.

The findings, published in the journal Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology, showed that the woman had multiple health issues before the attack occurred, including diabetes, hypertension and varicose veins, which made the rooster attack all the more fatal.

“The bird pecked her lower left leg causing significant hemorrhage with collapse and death,” the researchers wrote in the journal. “This case demonstrates that even relatively small domestic animals may be able to inflict lethal injuries in individuals if there are specific vascular vulnerabilities present.”

By the time the ambulance came to the scene, the woman had already bled to death, Byard told NBC News on Wednesday.

“Those with varicose veins should be treated so a situation like this does not happen,” Byard added.

While the autopsy was only on the woman’s left leg, the journal reportedly added that “two small bleeding lacerations were present, one of which was located immediately over a perforated large varix. Death was therefore due to exsanguination from bleeding varicose veins following an attack by a rooster.”

Byard told USA Today that “lethal rooster attacks are very rare, but small animals can cause death from trauma.” He also noted the “vulnerability” of the elderly.

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