Beginner Gardening: summer squash question regaurding hand pollination, 1 by bmo

bmo wrote:
Hello from CT USA!
This is my first year gardening. I have several different plants but my main concern, currently, is that my yellow summer squash are beggining to bloom. However, none of the males have opened. They are just green buds. Morning after morning, I helplessly watch my squash go by. I read up and learned to hand pollinate, but to do this I had to pluck and open a green, immature male. The pollen inside it was yellow; but it was wet and clumpy unlike typical flower pollen. I'm afraid the males have not yet sufficiently matured.
Additionally, I pollinated by rubbing the pollen on the females with my fingers. The females wilted slightly shortly after.
Are my males matured enough ? Is this common? WILL they ever open? Is something wrong? Did I damage the females by touching them with my fingers and not using using a paintbrush or q-tip? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Any shared experience with immature males would be great.
Thanks in advance,
BMO