I’m not exactly sure what is going on either. If you have removed the turner, how are you keeping them upright? But at least one of them has the freedom to move away from the others before hatch, just from the chick wiggling in the egg, positioning itself to hatch. I’m certainly not sure how you have them.
Some people hatch with the eggs in cut-out egg cartons. They cut away much of the carton to allow good air circulation around the egg but still keep the egg upright and not moving around. That works fine. Many people lay the eggs down on their sides instead of keeping them upright. That’s the way the instructions that came with my incubator said to do it and that has always worked for me. Either way works. The eggs will still hatch. Like many things with chickens, people care about this a lot more than the chicks do.
When the chick positions itself to hatch inside the shell, it will wiggle and may roll around some if it is free to roll. When a chick hatches, it will crawl around and knock the other eggs all over the place, playing rugby with them. That’s generally not a big deal though some people really worry a lot over it.
When the chick hatches it first punches a hole in the shell to breathe through, then eventually zips a line all around the shell so it can push the shell apart. I don’t know how you are holding them upright but as long as it can zip and push that shell apart they will be OK.
It is possible that the chick will shrink wrap if you open the incubator after an external pip. Possible does not mean it will happen each and every time without fail. Most of the time it doesn’t happen. But since it is possible it is good practice to not open the incubator after the hatch has started without a good reason. Shrink wrap means the membrane around the chick dries out and shrinks around it, imprisoning it so it cannot move to hatch. That is fatal unless you intervene. I don’t open the incubator after the hatch has started until the hatch is over unless I have an emergency in there that I consider worth the risk.
An example of an emergency I consider worth the risk of opening the incubator. In all the years I’ve been doing this, one time and only one time I had half an egg shell from a previously hatched chick cup itself around an unhatched egg, covering it so the egg could not pip or zip if the chick inside decided to come out under that half-shell. I opened the incubator and removed that shell. I did not shrink wrap any chicks that time, though several had pipped.
Another time for a different emergency I did shrink wrap a chick by opening the incubator so I know it is possible to shrink wrap a chick, but that is the only one that I have shrink wrapped and I’ve opened the incubator a few times.
Without knowing how you are supporting them upright, my suggestion is to leave them alone and interfere with the hatch as little as you can. But I sure wish I knew how you are holding them upright.
Good luck!
