Odd rooster behavior

[abpatchy]

Last fall I purchased a rooster from a wellknown breeder. He was molting at the time so I didn't think much of it at first. I had one hen who pecked him and pulled feathers on him. So I understood that he did not feel welcomed and maybe up to par due to the molt. It took him a long time to grow feathers. And just December or January is when he got his tail feathers back.
In December I put him in with his 4 girls that he was supposed to be mating with. I never felt like he was part of them but thought it is winter, and he might not feel frisky just yet. But now I am getting ready to collect hatching eggs I have been watching a little closer. Never seen him mating. Never dance around the girls. No warning calls. No calling them over for food (he just eats it himself). Hardly ever crows. I put some eggs from that breeding group in the incubator and none were fertile. So obviously he is not mating either.
I called the breeder and was able to pick up a different rooster last night. I had put him separete from his girls (he can still see them) and he did not complain. He felt totally happy where he was. Any rooster I know would have gone crazy trying to get to his girls! No complaint from this guy. He was just happy about the food. The other roosters also don't fight with him or even just raise their hackles.

He seems healthy. Eats and poops like he should. But he keeps his tail hanging down most of the time. And stands around looking... not like he is sick but more like he is not quite there mentally.

Has anybody ever had such a situation? I find it so odd!

 

[abpatchy]

Here is a picture of him. Even though he just got his tail feathers they seem to be all messed up already. But no parasites. I think it's because he is dragging his tail a lot.

 

[orelsi]

I have seen a tail like that ONLY when my roosters have been sick (excluding rain when they hold it like that, so the water could drain). That doesn't mean yours is sick. It could be a genetic thing or he might just be a beta.

You saying he doesn't dance or mate makes me think he is one of those rooters and hens that lack certain default behaviors due to the factory conditions their ancestor lived in. There are several articles about hens killing their chicks or roosters not dancing, because they have lost the ability to due to generations growing in factories. It could be that. I had a breeder rooster that did not dance, but straight up jumped on the backs of the hens sometimes injuring them, he simply didn't know how to do it properly.

I've never had issues with home grown roosters tough, especially if they are from a long linage grown at home.

My advice is to give him some kind of avian antibiotic for a week or 10 days, just in case, to see if anything changes. He might have a low running sickness that is not immediately fatal, but doesn't go away. I give mine Oxytetracycline based antibiotics (they have different brand names around the world) and never had adverse effects.

 

[abpatchy]

Thank you for your input! He is odd.