Rooster behavior quirk or illness - please advise

[chooks4life]

The head wagging is still odd but explainable by a few different ailments of which not many exonerate a bird from breeding stock status.

About roosters slipping off the back, no, that's definitely not the norm. A bung leg would be the likely cause. And unwilling or unhelpful hens, lol. You'd probably be surprised by the lengths a willing female will go to, in order to assist a male to mate when he can't do it without help. Routinely (in Australia anyway) you hear of cats and dogs getting pregnant through mesh, and you see cows with bulls half their size standing downhill of them so they can reach... Just stuff like that. But they have to like the male enough, or just be that bent on being a mother. Some female animals don't live for anything else, it's a burning priority, whereas others don't care much or at all.

 

[Maryot]

I've had 3 roosters (Jersey Giant, Orpington and Barred Rock). They all started wagging their heads when they hit sexual maturity. None of my 40 hens shook their heads, suggesting it was a rooster thing, not an illness. I would be curious to hear from other long time rooster owners about this.

 

[Maryot]

I have a black giant and a barred rock. The black giant was dominant and mean. He will be gone soon as he attacks people. They were both raised together with two turkeys and other hens. The barred rock does this head wagging thing once in awhile. It looks like he’s had his comb pecked. The black roo is now separated but the barred roo still wags a bit. It reminds me of when a kitten has ear mites. Not sure what’s going on.