I think my rooster attacked and bloodied my hen!!

[BuffOrp82]

Help please! I have 8 chickens, all the same age and raised together. One is a rooster who until recently has been very gentle and calm and still is with people. They are all 15 weeks old now and the rooster has been biting my hens necks .. I posted about it and the general opinion was that he was trying to mate .. well tonight I went out to the run to give them some treats and one of my girls was bloody. It looks like the back of her neck is split open .. I'm attaching a picture but it's graphic so be warned ..

Did my rooster do this? He is very sweet to me and my family and had been a favorite of mine since hatching but if he's hurting my hens I have to cull him. I just don't want to do it and find out he was innocent.

I looked around the run and can't see anywhere she could have gotten her head stuck, I did find a pile of feathers and some blood splattered on the ground ..

I cleaned the wound with peroxide and have seperated her. Why else can I do for her? I think I see her skull .. She is acting ok, eating and drinking but the wound looks bad ..

I've never seen any aggression toward her from the other hens

 

[sourland]

The wound will heal quite readily - you may want to apply some antibiotic ointment. He is big, clumsy, and ready to mate - the pullets are not interested in such activity. Why not remove him from the flock until both he and the pullets are more mature. When they are willing to mate, he will figure things out. My guess is that he inadvertently injured the pullet because of his inexperience.

 

[BuffOrp82]

How long should I keep my roo seperated?

 

[sourland]

I would wait until the hens have matured and start to squat.