Man dies after being attacked by ‘aggressive’ chicken

When Jasper Kraus was coming in and out of consciousness, he said the word ’rooster’

An Irish man who had a heart condition died after being mauled by an “aggressive” Brahma chicken living on his property.

Jasper Kraus of Killahornia was attacked by the chicken on 28 April last year, reported The Irish Examiner, citing a recent inquest.

His tenant Corey O’Keeffe said he heard Kraus screaming during the attack and saw blood spurting from his leg, as well as a large wound on his calf.

Mr O’Keeffe said he called emergency services, tended to Kraus’s wound on his leg, and talked him through CPR for 25 minutes before the ambulance arrived.

Mr O’Keeffe said when Kraus was coming in and out of consciousness, he said the word “rooster”.

Authorities said the man was found lying on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood and had a wound on the back of one of his legs.

Garda Eoin Browne of the Clonark neighbourhood told the inquest that he was called out to the scene of the sudden death, where he met paramedics.

He was informed by them that they had carried out CPR, but without success. Brahma is an American breed of chicken. Dr Ramadan Shatwan told the inquest that while the deceased’s face was covered in dry blood, there were no cuts to his face and his cause of death was due to lethal cardiac arrhythmia.

Kraus’s body was taken to the mortuary of Roscommon Hospital and later for a post mortem to the University College Hospital.

Kraus’ daughter Virginia Guinan told the inquest that she had dropped shopping off at her father’s house around noon on the day of his death. According to Ms Guinan, the family “knew his heart was bad”.

When she went inside, he was asleep and she did not want to wake him. Kraus’s dog had died recently and he was upset, she said.

Ms Guinan said her father was in remission from cancer and previously had renal failure as well. He was also on a lot of medication at the time.

She was contacted by Mr O’Keeffe, who informed her about the incident.

When she reached the house, she saw blood all over the floor and paramedics performing CPR on her father.

She said she “realised that it must have been the chicken” that caused her father’s death.

Mr O’Keeffe said the Brahma chicken that attacked Kraus “came here because it was aggressive before”.

Ms Guinan also said she saw a chicken with blood on its claws and suspected it was the same animal that attacked her father. She pointed out that the animal had previously attacked her daughter as well.