Rooster Behaving Oddly

[Kukelekuu]

My rooster, Vivaldi, is a ripe two and a half years of age. He's a golden laced wyandotte who appears to be going through a moult at the moment. He is the only governor of a flock that consists of eighteen hens, many older than he is. He is very scared of people and dislikes them as a rule, but would never be aggressive.

Lately, he's been acting strange. Yesterday he was seen near the propogation greenhouse, a fair distance from the coop, completely alone. I don't think I've seen him without his cohort of girls in years! That night he didn't come into the coop, and however hard we looked we couldn't find him. Luckily, the property is patrolled by two dogs, including a Livestock Guardian, and he stayed safe. This morning he was back again, and off between the garden and the front door completely alone. He wasn't strutting his stuff and watching for danger either, but instead standing near a clump of dried bracken ferns, almost blending in.
What has gotten into him? Is it normal for roosters to strike off on their own as they age? I'm getting a little worried for him.

This is Vivaldi as a younger boy.

 

[chicmom]

Maybe he's not feeling so well. Can you get ahold of him and check him for parasited, and also see if his weight is good?

 

[Kukelekuu]

If he comes into the coop tonight I'll grab him and check him out. It'll give me a chance to trim his spurs as well!
It's hard to tell right now if he's healthy or not because he's quite bedraggled with the moult. Do you think this behavioural change could be do to the moult?

 

[Kukelekuu]

Okay, so I looked at him and he is definitely not alright. He's got awful, bright red warty pustules around the base of his feathers by his vent area. It looks really scary. I'm going to create a separate thread about it and see if anyone knows what it is?