The daughter of an experienced animal handler who was brutally killed by his pet rooster has issued a warning about the dangers of aggressive poultry after the bird also attacked her young child. Jasper Kraus, 67, suffered a heart attack after the animal plunged its spur into his leg and caused him to lose litres of blood, the Mirror reports.
Virginia Guinan, 33, said her dad was a huge animal lover and while attacks are uncommon, she has urged owners to look out for signs of aggression. The trainee healthcare assistant from south Roscommon, Ireland said: "You wouldn't think a chicken can be dangerous - but they can be.
"It was a malicious attack, absolutely brutal. There were litres of blood all over the floor when I arrived." Virginia added that the father-of-two's bird was believed to be a 'nice and docile breed' which is good around children but the creature also tried to attack her three-year-old daughter.
She warned: "Having pet chickens is a big thing for families now, especially getting children involved. For this to happen is so rare and unbelievable, but it can happen."
Retired horse trainer Jasper had been in his garden on April 28 last year when the rooster attacked him from behind. He lost a lot of blood which resulted in a secondary heart attack and he passed away under an hour later.
Virginia had formerly owned the bird which killed her father but he had taken it on after it had tried to attack her young daughter, Josie. She explained: "A year earlier, the same rooster jumped the wall and jumped on Josie's back.
"After that I knew I had to get rid - we should have put him down there and then because we knew he was no good. But my dad protested - he had too big of a heart and didn't want me to get rid of the rooster, so dad took it instead."
Jasper, who was in remission from cancer when he died was outside visiting his dog's grave when the rooster attacked him. The animal which has since been destroyed had a random aggressive outburst and left a 1.5cm deep wound on the victim.
Jasper had a friend in the house at the time who contacted an ambulance but the animal lover collapsed from the blood loss before paramedics arrived. Virginia found her father in a pool of blood and was left 'devastated' as emergency workers failed to resuscitate him.
She said: "After he passed, I had to clean the blood left on the floor. It was traumatising after what had happened. There should be more support in place for families who go through tragedies like this."
Virginia is now urging others o consider the dangers of keeping poultry animals as pets even if they are a supposedly safe breed such as a Brahma. Jasper is believed to be only one out of a handful of people in the world who have tragically been killed this way.
Virginia added: ""We don't know why it happened - that breed was supposed to be soft and cuddly. People should be aware of the signs and get rid of any bird as soon as they show signs of aggression."
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