Birds……………….?

Okay; I have two Zebra finches (Male; Romeo Female; Juliette)
They are first time parents and they mate all the time.
Juliette was recently showing signs of illness so I moved their cage to a warmer place and she recovered.
She is always in the nest box I provided them and from what I’ve read; the male is supposed to line this box with nesting material.
I’ve provided them with shredded up papertowels (strips) and he isn’t lining the nest I gave them. Instead he is lining the entire cage.
Their nest is homemade (it’s an old salt box and I’ve cleaned all the salt out and cut a hole in the top and used a popsicle stick as a perch)
Now; the only reason I did this is because I asked the breeder I got them from and she said that that’s what they nested in.
What should I do?
Should I get a new nest that he will line?
What nest has worked best for all of you breeders out there?

That nest isn’t adequately constructed to keep the babies warm and dry. The mother may be egg-bound or sick in general,it is not wise to continue to house them together as if she’s sick she’ll pass it around and even if she gets better he’ll give it right back and she might not be able to fight it again. Separate the two and if she recovers entirely that means 3 months of not symptoms should you put them back together. If a small bird like finches and canaries get sick it’s a very short time between sick and ….

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