Help ID'ing stage of 7 unhatched chicks & why--possibly graphic pics??

Hello, all. I need the help of some experienced hatchers to identify the stage of these unhatched chicks and give me any possible reason why they quit at this stage. This was my first hatch, and I have more eggs that I plan to set this evening. I want to try to make sure I don't repeat any mistakes on my part, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

The eggs were shipped from Washington state all the way to AL. They were packed well, and looked good when they arrived. I waited 2 days before setting them.


Egg/chick one: super early quiter--any reason why? Or just one of those things?




Egg/chick two: another early quiter




Egg/chick three:




Egg/chick four:




Egg/chick five:




Egg/chick six: so close, but abdomen seems pretty large...?? had broken through air sac but nothing else




Egg/chick seven: almost there...




It looks like 3-5 are all pretty close to the same stage to me--could it be something that might have happened around that time of the incubation to cause them to die? We did have one that was pretty far along--I'd say between 3-5 and the last ones--but its head was deformed, so I know why it didn't make it. I also did have 4 chicks hatch good, with the exception of one with a broken yolk (but it's doing fine now, just looks a mess!)

Any help greatly appreciated!

Something could have happened but generally with shipped eggs the ones that quit before a week I consider shipping damage. You usually get at least one of those every hatch of shipped eggs. Unless I get a lot of them on eggs that otherwise seemed fine it's the ones after a week that I worry about. Lots of things could cause embryo death. Wrong temp, wrong humidity, rough candling or turning...

Thanks for the input--would you consider the first two pics to be within the first week? According to my thermometers asn hygrometer, everything was dead on and stable for the first 18 days. But, now I'm questioning the accuracy, so I've sent hubby to the store for something new.

mostly on early death it happens and more with shipped eggs. You will need to calibrate your hydrometer new or old. None are accurate and I have six of them and all are different as much as 11% low. Shipped eggs get shook around and it can mess up the yolk and air sac to the point that they can start to develope but die because everything in the egg is not right anymore. Usually you will lose damaged shipped eggs in the first week to ten days after that its usually something else