Chicken Attacks Child

On an otherwise uneventful Saturday afternoon a toddler was set upon by a backyard chicken.

The bird in question was of the Sussex breed and had being happily part of the household for over two and a half years.

No previous attacks have been recorded and the surprise ambush was unprovoked.

The Sussex

The young boy sustained scratch injuries to the face, neck and scalp from the bird’s talons and pecking injuries to the cheek, chest and back.

Thankfully the child’s eyes were not injured, possibly due to the victim’s prone position on the ground.

It is suspected that the fowl charged at the child and he either fell to the ground or was knocked over in an attempt to escape. The hen then proceeded to jump onto the back of the unsuspecting toddler, wings flapping, beak pecking and claws scratching.

When the mother of the child ran to provide assistance she found another chook on the back of the Sussex. This hen, a Barnevelder was attempting to rescue and protect the child by plucking feathers from the back of the Sussex.

The child’s mother stated that when the boy was separated from the Sussex, the Barnevelder looked at her with a mouthful of white feathers, paused for a second, dropped them to the ground and walked off.

The boy was given a bath and had his wounds were cleaned before they were documented as seen above..

The Barnevelder

Later that evening the offending Sussex chicken was found to be of the same weight as the toddler.

The Barnevelder was given a three course meal the following day and the small boy amused his parents by putting on his own personal protective wear.