It's like Las Vegas....Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. There are things you can do to help ensure the best possible hatch from shipped eggs---find out how the shipper is packing them, make special requests for packing if you wish (some folks ask to have the box lined with aluminum foil to prevent x-ray damage), etc. Ask them to mark the box "CALL ON ARRIVAL...your phone #" so the P.O. will call you to pick them up instead of having them ride around in the mail carrier's truck. When they arrive, photograph the box, photograph them in their packing, then candle each one looking for hairline or star cracks. You can photograph the candling of any "bad" eggs to show your shipper. You are also looking to see if the air cell is at the big end. IF IT IS NOT, or if it is divided, you need to make sure to let the eggs stand in a carton with the small end down, hoping the cell will move to the top or reintegrate itself. Sometimes it will. Every 4 hours or so, you want to move the book you are using to prop up one end of the carton to the other end....it helps keep any that might attach to the shell from doing that. Oh, you are also looking to see if any of the eggs have super large air cells, which means that they are OLD. This standing is called "letting the eggs rest", and if they are FRESH eggs, they should be able to stand for a day or two before you put them in the incubator.
Once you start them in the incubator, you're on your own
These things won't guarantee a great hatch, but they will help you know what to expect, and you can photograph those that candle badly and ask the shipper to replace them, especially if there was damage to the box or if they weren't packed carefully.
Best hatching luck to you!
