Rooster shaking head like a wet dog

[salty midnite]

My 10-month-old Brahma rooster, who weighs about 6 lbs & looks very healthy, started a week ago shaking his head multiple times per hour, briefly, almost like a dog shakes off water. No one else in the very small flock does this. Surely it shouldn't be ear mites, since I treated them all with Ivermectin last month, and sprayed the coop with Elector PSP. Also 2 months ago treated everybody for worms with Albendazole due to one in my 2nd tiny flock had gapeworm, so this roo's head shaking shouldn't be worms, no?
Breathing looks & sounds normal. He's eating & drinking normally, taking care of the girls, being as active as usual in free ranging, hopping up on things, crowing. His crop clearly enlarges with feed and then gets smaller as he digests, so I doubt it's a crop blockage.
His only other health issue is he's mostly recovered from a very light frostbite on the tips of his comb. (Side note: through his frostbite I learned that we in the windy mountains of the dry, dry West con't need as much coop ventilation as those in the humid East & South.) I caught the frostbite quickly, tightened the coop, hubby lowered their ceiling so the airspace is easier for them to warm it, and I keep them inside in these frigid mornings until the sun is high enough to raise the temp in their covered run to at least 35*. He did have one event 2 weeks ago when the worst-affected comb tip must have been itching or hurting as it scabbed and he scraped it intentionally on the coop wall until it bled. So I wonder if the 2 other frostbitten tips could be hurting or itching and maybe that's what makes him shake his head. But he's not scratching them, ever.
So, after the frostbite experience, I worry about every little thing with them and want to catch any problem early before they suffer bad effects. Thank you for any help.

 

[coach723]

If you can get a video of what he is doing and upload to youtube or other host and put the link here so we can see it, it would be helpful.
On the frostbite issue, by closing the coop tighter and making the space smaller, you may actually increase your risk of frostbite injuries. Frostbite happens from moisture condensing and freezing. When chickens respirate (breathe) they expel a lot of moisture. When in a closed space that moisture builds up, increases the humidity, condensation happens, and frostbite happens. More ventilation prevents that moisture build up, and prevents frostbite. Even in the very far north, open sided chicken houses are a traditional way of keeping healthy flocks. As long as they can get out of prevailing winds, and stay dry, they do fine. On a cold morning, go out and feel the walls and ceiling of your coop before it's been opened up. If it's damp, or worse wet, then you have a moisture problem and need more ventilation, not less. Since you have had frostbitten combs already, I suspect that is what is going on.

 

[salty midnite]

If you can get a video of what he is doing and upload to youtube or other host and put the link here so we can see it, it would be helpful.
On the frostbite issue, by closing the coop tighter and making the space smaller, you may actually increase your risk of frostbite injuries. Frostbite happens from moisture condensing and freezing. When chickens respirate (breathe) they expel a lot of moisture. When in a closed space that moisture builds up, increases the humidity, condensation happens, and frostbite happens. More ventilation prevents that moisture build up, and prevents frostbite. Even in the very far north, open sided chicken houses are a traditional way of keeping healthy flocks. As long as they can get out of prevailing winds, and stay dry, they do fine. On a cold morning, go out and feel the walls and ceiling of your coop before it's been opened up. If it's damp, or worse wet, then you have a moisture problem and need more ventilation, not less. Since you have had frostbitten combs already, I suspect that is what is going on.

Thank you for your detailed answer. Next step will be to put a sensor into their roost area to find out for sure what that humidity is, but I've been monitoring it by hand and it's always dry as far as my senses can tell. We're located in a windy mountain pass where the ambient humidity is about 20% all winter. Winds are frequently 30mph in winter, and a constant 10-15mph is common many days of the week. I can't imagine how an open-sided chicken house here could possibly provide any wind protection. As it is, I see the little curtain strips I hung in their inner doorway to the roost area moving with a breeze almost all the time, so I don't think ventilation is a problem. Getting and posting a video will be a new thing for me, but I'll give it a try. Thanks again!

 

[coach723]

This is an old book, but very informative on poultry housing and ventilation:
https://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Air-Po...r+poultry+house&qid=1610212411&s=books&sr=1-1
Moving air and ventilation is not the same as drafty. Humans often judge the state of the places we house animals by what humans prefer rather than what any particular species may need/prefer. Animals survived for eons without the help of human interference. Yes, domestication has brought changes. but they still have individual and unique needs that are often best met by more natural (to them) solutions. In general, housing for poultry is necessary to protect from predators, rather than to protect from elements. It also is convenient for us, since we don't have to go looking for them or for their eggs. Sometimes our efforts at protection introduce new problems that weren't there before. Since your ambient humidity is low, and you have frostbite in the coop, it does suggest that the humidity inside the coop is higher. The closed space can also increase the amount of ammonia fumes they are breathing, also not good. They are much more sensitive, if you can smell it then you have a very serious problem. Air quality is really important, their respiratory systems are much different than ours.
Another article on ventilation and why it's so important here, particularly in the winter:
https://www.betterhensandgardens.com/keep-coops-ventilated-especially-in-cold-weather/

 

[salty midnite]

Thanks. I'm not sure where the frostbite occurred. Could you fill me in on why you're certain it happened inside the coop? It could have happened outside, yes? Previously to discovering the blackened tips of his comb, I was allowing them to go outside by 7:30 a.m., when it has been quite cold.
I do appreciate your perseverance on teaching about coop ventilation, and I have read a whole lot about it. Only once in 10 months of checking have I ever noticed ammonia.
And our coop is well ventilated. It's impossible to make ventilation here at our location without making drafts, just the way our climate is here.
At any rate, I will check more deeply into the coop humidity level, and I will observe closely for respiratory issues. I think I also better look into his ears in case somehow mites are there despite the parasiticides the rooster just had. Or maybe a tick? Or a burr of some sort? I'd have thought the feather ear-covering would keep out plant material, but who knows. Better check. If anyone has experience with such, I'd love to hear about it.

 

[salty midnite]

Update: 1/14/21 It must have been a parasite, mite or louse?, in his ear. This morning we inspected with an otoscope, saw nothing we could identify, but since we saw no other foreign matter in there, we put one drop of Ivermax into that ear. No more head shaking! All is well. He appears much more comfortable. He has even thanked us in his special language.