Thank you for reaching out to Ask Lafeber. No, it’s not suitable to put in a nest. I also discourage using it in the bottom of a bird’s cage because it’s designed to hold in moisture. The problem with that is it also allows mold spores to grow in the bird’s environment as well as the people’s. Those spores also carry bacteria from the bird’s droppings. When birds are exposed to mold spores, it can get into their air sacs and in many cases, this can be fatal to the bird. I always suggest using newspaper or in this case a few layers of paper towel would be a good option. It’s easy to observe the bird’s daily droppings and in most cases the changes in the droppings can be the first sign of illness. If they get trapped in corn cob, it’s difficult to see their quality. The benefit with a paper towel is that it’s easy to clean, and the paper towel can be used to wipe up the bottom of the tray.
As for why she’s laying eggs. There could be environmental triggers. If there are any mirrors, I suggest removing them. Often times a bird can be triggered by their own image if they don’t have a cage companion. Finches are not exactly cavity nesters like parakeets or cockatiels are, but if they have anything in their cage, they can crawl into; they can be triggered. I like to avoid things like sleeping sacks or things they can crawl under. Cutting down the bird’s daylight hours could also help. If the cage is small enough, it can easily be moved to a room that can be kept completely dark for sleeping and then brought back into the room the bird is familiar with during the day. If the bird is put to bed an hour earlier and woke up an hour later, it could help break the cycle. I suggest leaving the eggs with her at this point. If they are removed as she lays them, she will most likely continue laying, So if she starts sitting with or on her eggs, give her a few days and then remove all of them at once and change things up in her cage a little.
If this bird has a mate, and the owner wants to breed them, that’s a different scenario. If this is the case, please get back to me and I can give some tips to make it more successful. Gouldian Finches can be a little tricky to breed. The are good at laying eggs but often times they don’t make good parents. Most breeders have a few pair of Zebra Finches to foster the eggs and babies. If I can further assist you, please reach out.
