Who is your daddy

[Applefinch]

I have two hens and two cock birds - Gouldian finches. Both hens have laid eggs and are sitting on them, however only one of the cock birds sits on both clutches.
The non-sitting cock is chased away by the other birds. Are pairs always monogamous as I have read, or can the male fertilize or pair up with two females?
Also once the chicks hatch, can the natural parents be determined by which birds feed the chicks?

[finchbreeder]

As the cock and hen normally sit 50/50 he cant sit enough to raise two broods at the same time. It is neither common nor uncommon for a vigourous cock in an avairy situation to put hen two down once hen one has feathered chicks however. It may or may not be the parents feeding but is a fairish guide. However the "rodger the lodger" situation is always a risk in an avairy situation.
LML

[Norse]

Gouldians in a colony will breed with whoever I have found, last season I added one rh cock into a cage with two bh pairs and a spare bh hen, all nests had one random rh baby so rh cock bred with all hens at some point, although the paired cocks did the sitting on there own nests

[Tiaris]

The ONLY way to be sure of parents is to have one pair per aviary. Even with apparently harmonious pairs in a colony who share duties equally & seem to have a strong bond, there are still often matings outside of the pair.

[Shane Gowland]

I was 100% sure this was going to be spam.

[Craig52]

No mate, they don't get past me that easy Craig