Advice/ reassurance needed

Hi all - these are non-urgent, but any thoughts appreciated.

1) Rudi/ cuts and bare patches on ears. Ever since I've known and been able to pet Rudi, I've noticed that the outsides of his ears are a bit tattered. By that I mean that they seem as if they have little scars/ tiny bare patches on them - almost slightly pockmarked, if that doesn't sound daft. And today I've also noted that he now has a little cut where his one of his ears meets his head - this is the 3rd or 4th time he's had such a wound. I've always put these down to scuffles past and present, but I'm just wondering if there's another issue that is responsible and/ or adding to it. I don't think it's fleas, as he was treated a few weeks back and doesn't look 'itchy' all over. But am wondering if the cuts etc are maybe self-inflicted if he's scratching? He's lazes around in long grass most of the day at the moment, so is there something in grass that can cause this? I'll try and get a photo.
2) Little Cow/ feeding. Less worrying but still a bit weird. I want to get a good look at The Interloper, a little black cat who I have christened Pudding (as in Black Pudding, a bit of an English 'delicacy'). I have now seen 'Pudding' twice from about 30ft away. I suspect it's a female as it's Little Cows size, maybe smaller, and I fear it may have some well-hidden kittens, probably not on the farm itself but somewhere very close by. Anyway, judging by the way food has been disappearing, Pudding appears to eat at Little Cow's feeding station, which is just outside the courtyard, partially obscured from our view by a trellis fence. So I've moved Little Cow's feeding station/ happy hutch about 15 ft from just outside the courtyard to just inside it. This means that, if Pudding shows up (and no sign yet) I can get a proper look at him/ her. I did this switch yesterday morning. And now, bizarrely, Little Cow seems to be eschewing her box in favour of Rudi's, which is right outside our back door!! I could literally put my hand out of the window and stroke her (if I wanted my hand savaging, that is). To clarify, she had done this Rudi-box behaviour once or twice before so it's not 'new' and, indeed, it's what made me think some of her food was being pinched by Pudding. But why is she walking by her slightly-moved box - which she sniffs at and pokes her head in, but turns from - and going to Rudi's? Could it be because Rudi's food is served in bowls on top of his box and so her escape is easier? Or is it just the fear of change? Either way, are there any ways to get her to start going back in her station? Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted she's ballsy enough to come up to the station outside the back door, but I fear all hell will break loose if Rudi ever catches her there. Should I maybe force the issue by removing all Rudi's dry food overnight (he generally only eats when I'm with him anyway, and his wet is never left out), thereby forcing her to use her box? Or is it just a matter of time?
3) On the Pudding front...both times I've seen him/ her, it's been in the last 30 minutes of so of daylight (so about 8:30 - 9:00 local time). If it were a mother cat, would it be coming more often, or do mother cats generally only leave the nest once-twice a day? I guess there might be no hard and fast answer for this, but any advice is appreciated.

apologies for length of note....watching these cats is fascinating and hence explaining things is sometimes harder than I imagine when I first start typing!

OK - it's a fuzzy picture and from the wrong side of the ear, but it's all I could find. The backside has some little bald spots (scars I think where the hair doesn't grow back in) - especially around the little rips and tears.

Is this what you're talking about? Older outside kitties usually have this - it's from scrapping with something (other cats, wildlife), or scraping them on stuff (I think).

If the problem is ONLY on his ear... then I suspect those are the problems. Otherwise I think it would be something that affects other parts of his body. But maybe call the vet to ask???

As to LC and Pudding... what about putting out food just for Pudding? Put LC's food in the normal place, Rudi's in the normal place, and Pudding's in the new spot for LC?

When we had an aggressive kitty in the colony, our feeding solution was easier, because even though they were scared of us, they knew when "dinner" (generic term for all meals LOL) was - and we were able to feed our aggressive kitty first, away from the colony, and put food out for the rest while he was eating.

But I think that's what I'd try.

Ooops, forgot the pregnant mom question, we've had exactly two moms we weren't able to sterilize before they had litters. They would come for food am and pm, but we put out wet meals of food in addition to the dry food we left out during the day (we pick it up at night due to not wanting to attract wildlife). When the kittens were old enough, they brought them along. We get the kittens into a foster network when they're about 10-12 weeks old, and then trap mom to get her sterilized. If they show up and you're going to keep them on the property, don't trap them until they're at least 12 weeks old - that's when mom normally starts to push them out on their own and she's done teaching them the skills they need to be adult kitties.

Big thanks, LDG.
You've described Rudi's ears to a tee and, fortunately, every other part of him seems fine health-wise. I suspect he's been without a home for a long old time and so has been in lots of scuffles, but I'll keep a closer eye on him than ever.
FYI, I've started to get his indoor home ready. He's quite happy to wander round the utility room (which leads to the back door) when I'm there preparing his food so I plan on tidying it up, putting in a couple of litter trays, his bed and some food and then taking the big step of gently closing the door behind him when we're playing (n.b. at the moment, the door to the outside world is always open for him when he ventures his 10-12 steps inside). If anyone reckons I should try another route, yell!! I don't want to stress him out. He's loving and affectionate but still occasionally twitchy, so I want to do it in the most sensitive way. Whatever happens, when I do close the back door, the plan is to stay in the room with him for a good while so that he doesn't feel abandoned and on his own. If he doesn't settle, I'll let him back outside. If he does, I'll leave him in peace but restrict him to the utility room. After a few nights, once he's used to the utility room, the plan is to open the door and let him explore the rest of the property.
I've switched back LCs feeding station and she seems to have no problem using it, though today she popped onto Rudi's station in full view of the big lad. He didn't bat an eyelid - how times change.
I've had no sightings of Pudding for a few days. However, the neighbour's eldest daughter confirmed she'd seen a little black cat around earlier this week so it's not just my eyes deceiving me! I put some food out right at the back of the farm for Pudding and watched it closely through binoculars. Unfortunately it seemed to be going down rather well with a pair of crows, so I had to bring it in!
best to all for a nice week

Sounds like a good plan to me. I will say... the older kitties usually freak out a bit once they realize they're "trapped" inside... but they calm down after a while. If he REALLY freaks, best to let him out. But if he just... freaks... then he will calm down. The first time we "trapped" Bill indoors, he REALLY freaked - and nearly shredded the blinds to bits, and we just let him out again. Poor thing ended up getting sick, so he had to be at the vet for 10 days... after that, we figured, best to try to keep him inside full time again. That try he didn't even freak out. He did cry for his brother for some time... but even that subsided (we'd adopted out his brother, so he wasn't outside to find even if we let him out). Lalzo cried at the front door for two days - and that was it. Then he gave up - and hasn't ever even gone near the door since (neither has Bill).

It really depends upon if you're trying to transition him to inside full time or not. With the very first stray that rescued us, she just came and went on her own terms because we allowed that. It wasn't fun getting up at 4:00am when she LOUDLY let us know she wanted out... but she knew this was home, and always sought shelter in a storm.

And yup, if it's the "raggedy" ears - that's normal for kitties (esp males) that have been outside for a time. And if he has fresh scratches... who knows what he's getting up to or who he's scrapping with. Hopefully the problems will be limited to just his ears.

Wise words, as ever, LDG. You've mentioned Lazlo before...do you have his story on the site anywhere? There's so much to be gleaned from what others say and have experienced.
You make a good point on 'what do we plan do with Rudi - out or in?'. The answer is both. While summers seem to be milder than ever in England, our winters seem to come earlier and be harsher with every passing year - not at JTbo's level, mind (that's not Finland, that's Narnia!) I want Rudi to understand that, if ever he needs it, he has an indoor home to escape from the cold, wind and rain. But, simultaneously, I want him to be able to roam when it's nice out and, essentially, when he wants to. Looking at him now, lying under a hedge in the sun by the back door, I couldn't deprive the big lad of his days in the sun; he follows me round the farm now, sleeping in the rhubarb patch or on the lawn while I'm gardening and letting out tell-tale meows when he wants his loving.
When we trapped him (and he had his sex change ) he certainly had a bit of a freak out. This wasn't the physical climbing-up-the-walls type of reaction you mention BIll having, but his crying was terrible; he even continued to cry and hide for 2-3 hours after I'd opened the door on the playhouse! The noises were unearthly and heartwrenching.
The weather should stay reasonable for the next few months so there ought not be any hurry. I guess I'll just get things ready for him and see what develops.

I'll dig up links after we get back from the vet.

But what we did for Booger (our indoor/outdoor stray) was start feeding her just inside the door. When she was comfortable with that, we put a cat bed on our laps, shed jump up on that outside to get her pets. Then we put it next to the door (inside), next to where she was eating. The next time it rained, when she ate, we sat on the floor, put the bed on our laps, and she "got" that she could use the bed, and stay inside during the rain. At first she'd just stay there... but the next time it rained, she wanted in - and she explored a little bit. It didn't take long before she owned the place, and came and went as she pleased.