HELP - Day 20 Quail Coturnix Japonica

[cardi0]

Hi, I am as much informed as newcomer can be.
On day 14 I put in lockdown ~30 dark fertile quail eggs with only air sacks glowing under flashlight.
Now it is day 20 and I got no movement nor pips.
Earlier discarded eggs(that had not turned fully dark) had developed chicks inside that died probably due to my inability to control temp. and humidity.
100% manual turning 4-6 times, temp adjustment by altering box ventilation and humidity by amount of spraying.
Temperature is fluctuating between 36 and 38c. Humidity is soaking
Eggs don't stink. Just candled them. I see nor hear nothing, however it is like they change the the center of gravity in my hand.
Don't hold it against me, I am a first timer on a non existent budget. But I love the hobby so far. I really have high hopes for these chicks and now they are not popping out. Waking up couple times during the night to spray them and check the temp. Love love love.
Hoping to see a pip for 7 days now but nothing
Now I wonder:
should I pop one egg open to see what is going on with them in the name of science may good Lord forgive me if I kill one.
Please advise.
Thank you.

 

[cardi0]

No one wrote here for an hour so I drilled one with a needle. It had a crack on the side so I figured I had nothing to lose.
The inner sack was pulsating and sometimes protruding. It is alive indeed just way late compared to schedule.
P.S.
I patched the hole with duct tape. Do you think it will survive?

 

[Corbdee]

Hello, welcome to BYC.
If things are moving inside still, the best thing you can do is keep waiting because the more you mess with things the more of a chance the quail could get shrink wrapped inside the membrane due to changes in humidity, so leaving the incubator as shut as possible will help.

Are you sure that the egg you put a hole in wasn't already pipped? You mentioned that it was cracked, so it could have pipped at an odd angle without you realizing. I have had quail hatch remarkably late after a bumpy start to incubation. Could you snap a pic of any without opening the incubator?

 

[cardi0]

Hi and thanks for the response.
I believe it was cracked from something else because it does not look like a pip. There is also another similar one but non of the others have it. Darker egg has a wider crack while the light one has a hair like fracture.
Find the images below and post your thoughts.
Thanks

Right here below the cross on the left diagonally it is visible.

Middle egg has a tiny crack. But they are there for days without changes.

 

[Alpine Bobwhite]

We were incubating some eggs, they weren't coming out until they started pipping, day 25+. This was due to the fact that the incubator temp checker was wrong and the real temp was way lower than it was supposed to be. The chicks developed slower, but used up the yolk at the same speed. When we finally came to assisting them, they died when we tried. The incubator was cheap for an incubator and I was inexperienced on hatching eggs. The incubator was an Osindii 8 eggs incubator.
Your incubator is probably much better quality and the chicks are maybe late chicks.
Just getting the thought out there. I am not an expert.
Hope the hatching goes well!

 

[cardi0]

Hey thanks for prompt reply.
I wrote in the first post that my incubator is handmade. So it is the worst there is.
But if girls can incubate in bra this has to work to some extent too.
Tell me people, when should I start opening them to see if I can save them? I don't want them dying inside. Tonight is day ~21.