Hi, welcome to the forum, glad you joined, I just wish it were for another reason.
When incubating the eggs the air cell should be on top if the egg is incubated on end. That way the air cell stays here it is supposed to and the chick is properly oriented. You can also incubate with the egg laying on its side. That's the way the eggs are when a broody hen incubates them, on the side. The air cell behaves and the chicks can handle orientation either way. When I use my incubator I use a turner that holds the pointy end down but when I go into lockdown I lay my eggs flat on the bottom of the incubator. You usually do not get good hatches when you incubate them with the narrow point up with the air cell on the bottom. As you have seen that does not mean none will hatch but many may not.
When did you start incubation? Either date or day of the week works. That way I could tell about where they are in the hatching process. They can be a day or two early or late but at least it would be a clue.
So what do you do? There are no good options. Before a chick hatches it needs to dry up the blood vessels in the membrane around it and absorb the blood so it does not bleed to death as it is opening the shell during hatch. It also needs to absorb the yolk, the yolk is what it mainly lives off of for a couple of days after it hatches. And it pokes a hole into the air cell and sticks its beak in to learn to breathe air instead of living in a liquid environment. If you carefully open an air hole into the air cell you should be OK but anywhere else you risk hitting a blood vessel or the yolk unless it is far enough along that is not a problem.
I think I'd candle them first. I'd mainly be looking for movement or any hint that they are still alive. If your shells are dark brown, blue, or green it may be hard to see much inside. It is possible you can't see well enough to detect movement. The head is probably tucked between its legs, you may only be able to see a solid dark mass, not individual parts.
When did you start them? Today is Sunday June 2. If you started them on or before Friday May 10 the risk of puncturing a blood vessel has dropped some. It is still a risk. Be very careful if you poke a hole in the shell. You just posted you started them Saturday night. I'd not risk poking a hole. I'd lay them on their side in the incubator if you can and hope for the best. If they are on their side you might see the egg wiggling as the chick inside moves to position itself for hatch. That way you know a chick is alive inside.
I hesitate to mention this because some idiot will see it and risk their hatch because they have no self-control. Water candling is something that should only be done in a desperate situation. You are not there yet but before you toss the eggs you might float them in a bowl of water. Only try this on eggs that have not pipped. If a chick is alive in the shell then it should wiggle as it floats. I'd wait until Tuesday to do this. If one wiggles I'd try helping it by very carefully remove tiny bits of shell. If you see blood stop. If you don't see blood drops or blood vessels in the membrane open it up and see if you can save it. If you see blood put it back in the incubator.
You are probably beating yourself up pretty badly over this. Try not to. You did not know any better. If you do it again you deserve to beat yourself up but we all go through learning curves. Whether we admit it or not, we have all made mistakes.
Good luck!
When incubating the eggs the air cell should be on top if the egg is incubated on end. That way the air cell stays here it is supposed to and the chick is properly oriented. You can also incubate with the egg laying on its side. That's the way the eggs are when a broody hen incubates them, on the side. The air cell behaves and the chicks can handle orientation either way. When I use my incubator I use a turner that holds the pointy end down but when I go into lockdown I lay my eggs flat on the bottom of the incubator. You usually do not get good hatches when you incubate them with the narrow point up with the air cell on the bottom. As you have seen that does not mean none will hatch but many may not.
When did you start incubation? Either date or day of the week works. That way I could tell about where they are in the hatching process. They can be a day or two early or late but at least it would be a clue.
So what do you do? There are no good options. Before a chick hatches it needs to dry up the blood vessels in the membrane around it and absorb the blood so it does not bleed to death as it is opening the shell during hatch. It also needs to absorb the yolk, the yolk is what it mainly lives off of for a couple of days after it hatches. And it pokes a hole into the air cell and sticks its beak in to learn to breathe air instead of living in a liquid environment. If you carefully open an air hole into the air cell you should be OK but anywhere else you risk hitting a blood vessel or the yolk unless it is far enough along that is not a problem.
I think I'd candle them first. I'd mainly be looking for movement or any hint that they are still alive. If your shells are dark brown, blue, or green it may be hard to see much inside. It is possible you can't see well enough to detect movement. The head is probably tucked between its legs, you may only be able to see a solid dark mass, not individual parts.
When did you start them? Today is Sunday June 2. If you started them on or before Friday May 10 the risk of puncturing a blood vessel has dropped some. It is still a risk. Be very careful if you poke a hole in the shell. You just posted you started them Saturday night. I'd not risk poking a hole. I'd lay them on their side in the incubator if you can and hope for the best. If they are on their side you might see the egg wiggling as the chick inside moves to position itself for hatch. That way you know a chick is alive inside.
I hesitate to mention this because some idiot will see it and risk their hatch because they have no self-control. Water candling is something that should only be done in a desperate situation. You are not there yet but before you toss the eggs you might float them in a bowl of water. Only try this on eggs that have not pipped. If a chick is alive in the shell then it should wiggle as it floats. I'd wait until Tuesday to do this. If one wiggles I'd try helping it by very carefully remove tiny bits of shell. If you see blood stop. If you don't see blood drops or blood vessels in the membrane open it up and see if you can save it. If you see blood put it back in the incubator.
You are probably beating yourself up pretty badly over this. Try not to. You did not know any better. If you do it again you deserve to beat yourself up but we all go through learning curves. Whether we admit it or not, we have all made mistakes.
Good luck!
