So my hen got an injury that I'm 95% sure is from mating, but it's much worse than the one in the original post.
It's like 2 inches where the skin got pulled away from her body. I kept her inside overnight and the wound seems to have healed a lot in that time. Yesterday I cleaned it with a Betadine solution and then applied a bunch of triple antibiotic ointment.
I repeated this (clean then ointment) this morning and this evening.
I'm also wondering how long I should keep her away from the roosters. I'm not too worried about bullying from the flock---the injury is totally hidden by her wing and before I discovered the injury she was doing just fine in the flock and it was a total fluke that I even spotted it.
What I am worrying about is a rooster trying to mate with her and possibly reopening the injury.
At this point she's been in my house for about 24 hours. Normally I'd put her in one of my "quarantine" zones (ie dog crates in the run), but I've had two chickens killed by rats over the last few weeks and I'm too nervous to put her in a vulnerable situation.
How many roosters?
If just one, he'll fuss, but I'd move him for a week or two until she heals up. It's much harder to re-introduce a hen that has been separated out than a rooster. The rooster is not part of the hen's pecking order, he revolves around it, so he'll just basically come back in with his flock and continue on while a hen may have to battle it out to get back to her place or suffer being picked at.
Alternatively, get a good hen saddle that has some sides that will help cover her and an accidental reopening of the wound. File/smooth/round the rooster's nails too.
I've had a hen with a similar wound too - she was a high ranking hen and older, so actually avoided the rooster's advances while she was healing - he was a good boy and didn't force the issue, so I didn't worry a lot about her being mated too much. She healed up fine and afterward welcomed his advances in moderation
Oh, what are you doing about the Rats? This can be a battle!
How about, placing some traps in the Quarantine cages so the chickens can't get to them? I also use traps and place them where the birds can't access them. You can make covers using hardware cloth. I've also used a couple of old dishpans, just cut out a couple of entry points on the sides or ends and placed on traps.
I don't like using poison, but have in the past - rats multiply quickly! Take up food at night and eliminate water sources if possible. It's a job and you have to work at it - I know...been there, still trying to be proactive to prevent a re-infestation of the darn things.
