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A woman has died after being pecked at by her pet rooster while she collected eggs from the chicken coop in her garden, according to reports.

The elderly woman, from South Australia, died after the rooster's beak reportedly punctured a varicose vein and caused it to bleed profusely.

She suffered numerous other injuries but the cause of death has been reported as bleeding which could not be stopped.

The woman's identity has not been reported by authorities in order to protect her family from further trauma.

A public warning has been issued on the dangers of seemingly harmless animals, news.au.com reports.

(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Professor Roger Byard said: "Most importantly I'm trying to get to elderly people have varicose veins treated with a simple operation because they are especially vulnerable to being broken."

He added: "We have done studies that show people have just been around their homes and bled to death by knocking their leg and the vein on something."

Speaking of examples of animals causing death, the professor said "cats are a very common tripping hazard for the elderly around the house that they may never think of."