Camron Slessor of ABC reports the woman’s death was studied by University of Adelaide Professor of Pathology Roger Byard, who said researchers hoped to prevent similar deaths in the future by bringing the details to light.

Professor Byard said the woman was collecting eggs from her chicken coop on her rural property in South Australia when the rooster pecked her lower left leg, causing her to haemorrhage and collapse.

An autopsy later revealed two small lacerations on her lower left leg, with her death the result of bleeding varicose veins.

“What we’re trying to do is use these tragic cases to try and prevent similar deaths in the future,” Professor Byard told the ABC.

“[This case] made us realise how vulnerable the elderly are, [varicose veins] are very easy to damage.’

While Professor Byard admitted rooster attacks were rare, he said this case — which had happened recently — raised concerns about the dangers of small domestic animals.

“They are very rare, there have been a couple of cases overseas where children have been pecked by roosters because they have thin skulls and the rooster has actually caused brain damage,” he said.

“There was another fellow in California who was at a rooster fighting pit and a rooster had a knife attached to its leg and stabbed or slashed him.”

He said elderly people with varicose veins needed to understand they may be vulnerable.

“There are a couple of messages, one is never trust a rooster … the second one is if you’ve got varicose veins, get something done about it,” he said.