sexing quail not in breeding season

So I have a little flock of A&M, Reds, and red tuxedos that i still have not been able to sex. They are ten weeks old and have not laid any eggs yet but they also are just finishing up with a molt. I didn't want to try and light them until they were done molting completely. I know some are males because i heard an a&m crow at 6 weeks (i didn't have anything to mark it at the time) I would like to butcher out the extra males so I don't have to keep feeding them all. I would like to slowly start lighting them, maybe add half an hour or so of light a day until i get 14 hour days to try and not trigger another molt. If they are not breeding you can't sex them, right? Any advice on getting them in breeding mode would be greatly appreciated. I have picked out the few browns females and put them in the other side of the cage with a roo but i would like 2 flocks of mixed colors, 7 in each side. Its a 3'x8' pen with center divider. Also, I have a few goldens too. Can they be sexed by the specked chest? I live in Colorado if that helps.

where are you at?

oh sorry didn't read the rest. im not sure on quail but am wanting to get some

you can sex goldens the same way you sex browns

I thought so but they are really light colored

Coturnix quail don't really have a breeding "season". There is a time of year females won't lay eggs without additional light but there is no season. The three colors you mentioned do not auto sex like golden varieties or pharaohs. They will have to be vent sexed or you will have to see them crow/ lay an egg/mount a bird. The problem with vent sexing a mixed group of coturnix is that they reach sexual maturity rapidly and often people will believe they have found a rooster (foam coming from the vent when squeezed gently) only to find that it was a hen who had been covered in the last 8-12 hours.

Golden hen

Golden roo

Thanks, none of mine have foam or are laying now. It sounds like I may have to light them to see

You don't need to light them up. All that will do is after a couple weeks make hens lay eggs. You won't be there to see it and they don't sit on the eggs so it will do you no good.

We have a method we call beer sexing. Grab a 12 pack and lawn chair and sit in front of the cage. Drink beer until you see a rooster crow or mate another bird, then remove him. Repeat for entire week if necessary.

Also you can cause an angry response by separating them one at a time and putting them across the yard from the others without food and water. They'll usually get mad and vocalize. If it chirps like a cricket loudly then it is a hen, roosters can make that noise at any real volume and obv if it crows its a roo.