[christie99]

1. What kind of finches are these?
2. What kind of nesting site do you have for them?
3. You can candle the eggs after 5 days of incubation. At this time you will see blood veins of a developing chick. Even if an egg seems to be a dud, let it stay in the nest. If it doesn't hatch, it will provide support and warmth for chicks that have hatched.
4. Yes, the birds should be sitting. You can't force them to sit, let nature take it's course. If these are young birds, they may not raise a clutch sucessfully.
5. Do not allow birds to lay and/or raise chicks more than 2-3 times a year. Otherwise the hen will loose too many nutrients causing her to become ill, or possibly eggbound leading to death.
6. Finch chicks usually fledge about 4 weeks after hatching. This will happen on its own and once all the chicks have left the nest during the day, remove it. Leaving it up will cause the hen to lay eggs again.
7. Yes, once the chicks are fully weaned (about 2 months old) they should be moved to their own cages. Seperate them by sex. Parent birds have no problem mating with their offspring, and siblings will do the same. To keep from inbreeding, seperating them by sex into different cages will help keep the flock healthy.