A woman in Australia who was attacked by a rooster died after the bird’s pecking caused her leg to hemorrhage profusely, according to a new report of the case.
The 76-year-old woman was collecting chicken eggs on her rural property when an aggressive roster began pecking at her lower-left leg, according to the report, published Aug. 20 in the journal Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology.
The pecking lead to a “significant hemorrhage,” which caused the woman to collapse, the report said.
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, the report said.
Varicose veins are swollen, twisted veins just under the skin, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The condition is very common and can occur when valves inside the veins become weak or damaged.
Attacks by roosters are “very rare,” Dr. Roger Byard, a professor of pathology at the University of Adelaide and co-author of the new report, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
“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,” the authors wrote in their report.
Fatal Rooster Attack
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12024-019-00159-6
