My Society Finches

Question
Hi Megan:

I have left questions prior to this and don't know how to receive my answers, does it go directly to my email?  That would be better as it is difficult to find you again.  

So, her goes,...I fell in love with Finches by visiting a home decor store I love where she has an aviary and it is beautiful.  So I purchased four Society Finches, of course not knowing sexes with this type of finch.  Soon I had one singing and puffing up all the time and I determined he was one of the males.  

I built a beautiful aviary converted from a huge armoire.  I had them in a smaller cage for one week and they diligently worked and built a nest in one of the wicker cup like nests I purchased.  All four seemed to work just as hard during the process.  And all four crowd into the nest to roost at night.  I then felt bad about the two remaining Society Finches I left at the pet store and went back to get them.  For several days they were left out of the nest and picked on a little.  But now that they are in the large aviary they are all getting along.  At night however, they are the last two to get in the nest.  Mind you I have five other nests of all sizes for them.  But they go to that one.

After the second week I had eggs, five, then found two at the bottom of the aviary with a couple of finches pecking at them.  I removed them.  I put the nest in the new aviary and was able to finally see into the nest and see three remaining eggs.  They have been sitting on them ever since and I do not know if they have hatched as I cannot see into it without removing it.

So why are they all getting into one nest?  Are the eggs getting smashed have six birds on them.  It is amazing how they all get in and look out at you.  I cover the aviary at night and they know right when this should be done each day.

I have had a bird farm employee tell me the best nests are the boxes with a hatch that opens so you can see the eggs, I have one of those in the aviary as well.  I have a wonderful bird bath for them and every morning at the very same time they all get in and it is so cute to watch.  They love spinach, romaine and apples.  I have cuttle bones in there but keep reading about needing grit, like crushed oyster shells?

So I am sorry this is so long, but I cannot find anyone to tell me about the nesting in one nest,...how are the eggs doing?  Do I have one female and all males?  wow, they are so wonderful, but I keep reading about separating and it gets confusing.  I have made their home so natural and they seem so happy.  

I am looking forward to hearing from you Megan.

Thank you from the heart!

Susan

Answer
So the answer to your first question, is that Societies are VERY social birds (hence their name) and just like doing that. Mine do it all the time. If you're worried, just buy them a larger nest for all of them to cram themselves in. Other than that, they just like it (its also cute to watch).
Crushed oyster shells are a good idea to add their diet. The good thing about them is that you can either have them separate or add it to their food. What I like to do is mix oyster shells with charcoal (you can buy it from www.ladygouldian.com-I prefer this one because the owner is very knowledgeable, or www.ladygouldianfinch.com). The charcoal aids digestion and deactivates toxins produced by bacteria in the gut. Only give them a SMALL amount of the charcoal because many finches adore it and will pig out on it. This isn't a bad thing but it doesn't have any nutritional benefit either.
Its hard to say how the eggs are doing. If you suspect the eggs are fertile, I suggest getting a bigger nest so the babies don't get squished. I've had societies do this with babies and as long as there are dud eggs around the babies (to provide protection from the weight), they'll do fine. The babies that were raised with societies doing this became very social little birds (they were gouldians) and were prone to stuff themselves in packed nests as well.