Zebra finches laying eggs in food dish

[Finchbreeder]

If you look at the pics he had his eyes shut - this is a little unusual when the mum and sibling are obviously awake.
Sadly a weaker chick - usually the youngest - who parents stop feeding at the same time as the eldest - may be slower to eat enough on it's own.
Nature is a B she lets only the strongest survive - while this makes sence in Nature - keeping the flock strong - it is harsh.
With mums budgies she will wean the young out of the parents breeding cage 2 at a time with broods of 4 or more to let the younger chicks have those few extra days of parental feeding.
This reduces the incidence of loosing the youngest - but still does not completely eliminate it.

 

[Kimmycup1]

Here's another pic with both babies with their eyes closed. They were trying to sleep while the parents were bouncing around, waking them.

If the older one survives, I now have an uneven number. The parents started chasing the chicks a bit a few days ago, and I've been keeping a close eye to make sure it didn't escalate. I want to separate mom and dad, and was actually deciding today which parent would be best to remove. Since I think the surviving chick is a girl, I will separate dad and leave her with mom. This leaves dad alone, which I don't want. I already suggested to my mom to maybe start looking for another male for him, but I'm not sure how possible it would be to find one where I live. For now I will separate the parents and leave the cages next to each other and see how that goes

 

[Finchbreeder]

As you say that is different - they were sleeping, and even mum appears to be dozing.
It is just looked like he was sleeping when everyone else was wide awake - we all sleep more when unwell.
If the cage is big enough 3 is a good number - but if you wish to stop further breeding - then 2 cages side by side with each gender in is good.

 

[Kimmycup1]

I definitely don't want them to breed any more. I also don't want dad to be alone, but at least for now, that is how it will have to be. I hope once I separate him, mom and daughter may bond more. I said I wasn't going to name her since I'm not 100% on gender, but I feel strongly it is a girl so I named her Millie. She's very laid back, loves to sit in the food dish and eat, but is nervous when mom or dad chases and will hide. I hope the chasing stops once it's just mom and baby