I know it has been a tough year for hatching. There are numerous posts wondering why it looks as though chicks develop fully,then die before hatching. I just want to tell you that I think sometimes "things happen" even when we do it right. Case in point:A broody hen hatched out 4 beautiful marans chicks,had 3 eggs pipped and 2 un-pipped left. Her chicks got out of the nest and I couldn't reach them,so she got out with them. This gave me time to examine her eggs. I had left her alone up until then(I think they do better), That's when I saw the 3 pipped eggs,2 with dead chicks and one with one struggling(it had rolled over,face down. I helped it out a little and stuck it under another broody hen(it has since hatched and was reunited with it's mom).The other 2 chicks were perfectly formed and were easily peeled out of the shell. All that they needed to do was to absorb the yolk. One had a clear passage to the air,but the other had the membrane over it's beak. What went wrong? Who knows? Sometimes things happen. I still believe she did better than she would have with interference from me.
I think sometimes it is hard to know exactly what to do...I helped some of my chicks out of their shell the last time because they were "stuck" for some reason. It worked fine. One did not make it though... Just keep trying someone else said! & do your best to learn all you can....
Gina is right. Sometimes we do everything right and they dont hatch, perhaps some internal weakness. I know its happened to me on occasion, everything was perfect all the way through and I'd still lose a couple, even with my very own eggs that never were in the hands of the P.O.