Finch Breeding

Question
QUESTION: I was given 2 finches last June. The end of December they laid 5 eggs and out of the 5 two hatched. The babies are now grown and doing well. I just recently tried taking the babies out of the cage and they did not seem to like that. I believe that I waited to long and they are now attached to their parents. They kept trying to fly back to their parents and flying into the side of the cage. I did put them back in with their parents but their parents have now laid more eggs. 5 total, two have hatched, one they have ate, and two are still unhatched. My question is: can I leave all of these birds together or do I have to separate them? I have the fear that they might start breeding with each other? I was told that you should never inbreed your finches and I am worried that might start happening as the first two babies have seemed to bond and are constantly together and snuggle together when they sleep

ANSWER: First off, how old were babies when you separated them from their parents? Finch babies should be moved two months AFTER they have left the nest. I wouldn't worry too much about leaving them all together unless the parents start attacking the previous babies. Inbreeding I find is something you don't have to worry about. If they do happen to lay eggs, just stick the eggs in the fridge overnight and give them back and let them sit on the dud eggs. Snuggling is not something to worry about. Finches (for the most part) are social creatures and like sleeping together whenever possible (I used to have at least eight finches that would cram themselves all into one nest to sleep).

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QUESTION: The babies were about 5 months old when I tried to separate them. I don't understand the concept of putting the eggs in the fridge and them giving them back for them to sit on. Why wouldn't I just throw the eggs away? I have found with my current finches that if they know the egg is a dud or are not ready to have babies they eat them. Why would they sit on them?

Answer
Finches that are ready to have a clutch won't eat the eggs. Putting eggs in the fridge to make them duds is to ensure that the eggs remain duds and no babies come from them. Taking away the eggs and just throwing them away puts the female under stress because now she has to lay new eggs. This puts too much strain on her and if done repeatedly, it could kill her.