A few random rabbit questions

So I have a few unrelated questions that I didn't want to make separate posts for.

1. Sir Merlin The Wizard my little false black charlie Buck, seems to be missing a patch of fur about the size of a dime, its on his upper back right off his shoulder. He also seems to have fleas, what can I do about the fleas? I saw only one on him and I got it off there was hardly any flea dirt on him at all, but what natural way can I get rid of them? Would a baking soda bath do it?

2. Update on Turtle: her sore hocks have completely healed and she's put on a noticeable amount of weight, still fighting with the remains of ear mites but other than that she's a very healthy little girl. She's been upgraded to a bigger nicer cage too! She's still inside, she still needs to put on a bit of weight. But my point is, would it be worth it to rebreed her while she's inside in a calm, warm environment? Do you think she would get stressed out like she did last time? If I do rebreed her she'll be inside until the babies are old enough to be weaned.

3. Last but not least, I have 4 does sharing a huge cage (that I plan to attach to another large cage later on) and I want to keep them together as a colony. Right now they are all under 3.5 months and they won't be bred the first time until they are 7-8 months old because I want to make sure they don't start fighting. They've been living together for quite some time now and all get along very well. If they stay as a colony which o do plan to attempt, I'm looking for advice to make it the best environment for them possible. Currently their cage is a 4x3x3 well its a bit bigger and smaller but I'm not going to measure it for specific inches, but once I put the other cage on the back of it, it'll expand to something about double of that. I will also more than likely have them on the ground with a stand for when it rains or maybe drop down legs so they don't sit in the bad weather.

If I think of anymore I'll add them

I can answer 1 and 2 but I have no experience with colonies.
1. You can use either Revolution(a prescription may be needed) or kitten flea powder. If you do the second option it MUST be kitten, and only powder. Don't use anything with the same active ingredient as Frontline, which is toxic for rabbits. I don't remember what it's called, I think it starts with an F. Dust him with the powder, and rub it in. Rinse his cage, dust it, and leave the dust in for a few hours without him in it. Then rinse out the dust and he can go back in. Of course, other members probably know better about this than me, as this seems a primitive method, but I'm in South Africa so that's all I could do. I've treated rabbits like this before.

2. If she needs to put on weight and is still battling with ear mites, DO NOT breed her. It would be super hard on her, her milk will be less, she'll lose more weight, and so on. A rabbit should be on top condition and completely healthy to be bred. Wait until she is a healthy weight, and is free of ear mites and sore hocks.

DE works well for fleas, but you have to be careful of eyes and nose. You have to do this for several weeks to be effective. Flea combs in conjunction with the DE works very well.

As LFB said, breeding is a very bad idea on any rabbit that is not in IDEAL condition. I know of some breeders that won't even breed a doe that is starting to molt or just finishing one up as she is not really in ideal condition. Ideal condition for a doe is good body weight, no parasite issues, no physical health problems (injury/disease/illnesses), an overall clean.

When I had the small group of lions together, had bunch of huts and tubes. Also had multiple water/feed places and full time hay. I know from other posts that some times they do well with litters together, some times they don't. Mine did OK, mortality rate was higher than when they were single caged though. I suspect it was because the does while were OK with each other would scare away from the nest easier than when they were single caged and often times stomp more kits (after babies hit 2 weeks I had no deaths, it was always 3-7 days with a few 7 to 12 days).

Like I said in my first post or at least I thought/should have said was, she is in no way shape or form being bred until she's back in peak condition. She needs to put on another 2-3 lbs and loose the ear mites. Once she's all good I plan to breed her. Which probably won't be until next month. She's been free feeding hay and gave more pellets than normal since weight gain is my intent.

My worry with her is last time she got very stressed out and territorial because the guy who had her before me housed her with the buck on about 2 feet worth of hay mixed with their filth. Not to mention he was killing her kits and had pulled the majority of her fur out, but let's not forget the ear mites she had when I first got her. She was just a mess.
So the last time I bred her she like I said freaked out. She Sat in the back corner of her cage and would grunt and tremble at the site of people. I got attacked a few times for trying to play nice with Apple's and other yums. Since she's been inside I've been able to handle her more and she's became quite the house pet. I think that once she's fully healed from the mites and low weight she could be a great mom (I want to breed her and her not be horrified through the entire thing). I'm gonna find out what her favorite treat is so she can have it as often as possible during the pregnancy, I want her to be very happy and calm and have a nice experience so she can continue being a wonderful mom and produce beautiful kits.

__________ November 29th, 2016, 11:52 am __________

Also are there any natural remedies for fleas? I try to use natural things because I know they work just as well and for me are ease at mind knowing I can't mess up lol. <br /><br /> __________ November 29th, 2016, 11:59 am __________ <br /><br /> So I had a smart moment and decided to look on the rise and shine rabbitry website at their natural remedies, and found this
"SAGE – dried and powdered, and sprinkled repel fleas, dry up does who’s kits have been weaned. Reduces lactation when weaning, digestive stimulant and a uterine stimulant. This herb should be used with caution and should be avoided during pregnancy.

SASSAFRASS – dried and powdered, and sprinkled repel fleas"
It also said Eucalyptus could be used. But I was further up the list and switching tabs on a cell is no fun lol