I will chime in here. First, correct me if I’m wrong, but it doesn’t look like this is US stock. Most US Watermaal are e^+ based but Mille Fleur can be on any of three bases: e^wh, e^+, or e^b, depending on where the pattern was originally acquired from in the formation of the Mille Fleur Barbu de Watermael that was used to create your boy. Most US sources (I’m going with what is said in the Facebook Mille Fleur breeding forums) identify e^b as producing the most even and controlled color patterns of Mille Fleur, and it is likely many Mille Fleur patterns are based on this foundation worldwide (esp in Europe, where the color tends to be more highly perfected). As such, Mille Fleur varieties specifically might be more likely to have an e^b base even if all the other varieties in the breed do not. As for the base of your silver boy’s dad, he could be either wild type e^+, or brown e^b and I wouldn’t be able to tell you with certainty one way or another. For what we are dealing with, it is rather inconsequential whether he is one or the other as most Columbian based color patterns are close to identical on either e^b or e^+ with minor differences (I’m going on what breeders have told me here, as my first hand experience with Mille Fleur is limited, but I more frequently encounter these two different bases in quail patterns). In the quail varieties, if they aren’t nearly identical, I sure have a hard time distinguishing them for sure without test breeding. It could just be that my known sample sizes of each are very small. I generally see smudgier lacing in the few e^b based quail I have identified, but I doubt these differences would have any relevance to Mille Fleur. Anyway, back to that Mille Fleur sire: I don’t suspect wheaten with him because his gold is nice and even through the hackles (something wheaten tends to disrupt when it is a base).
Now for the other modifiers: Since Db (the dominant gene that causes black tailed buff) restricts black in the hackle and black is actually desired here in moderation (check out the black striping in the hackle of the sire- his markings are more indicative of a Columbian genotype, not necessarily replaced nor accompanied by Db), and to my knowledge Db is not a common gene in Mille Fleur varieties. Most likely you are dealing only with Columbian modifiers from both parents, but it is possible one parent carried Db… just not as likely if the mom was a silver Columbian. It is true the two can be difficult to tell apart except in the presence of Birchen, but quantity and clarity of black striping in the hackles of homozygotes can be a good indicator as well. Note if this bird is a carrier of Db, I would guess a heterozygote.
Pattern genes: ok, mottled is a recessive pattern modifier but it is notorious for partial expression in a heterozygous state. Most frequently this manifests as white spotting in the wings and around the head in the second year but a single copy it CAN be responsible for some spangle like patterns that lack the white tips as well (I have seen this in accidental mottled quail I hatched out of mottled before). Mottled is thus a simple recessive that is genetically distinct from Spangled, but the two can sometimes have some similar effects. I have not actually heard of it (spangled) being carried in Mille Fleur or other mottled patterns before. I have spent a lot of time on genetic forums and recently quite a bit of time lurking in the Mille Fleur breeders FB groups because I have a trio of Mille Fleur d’Anvers and I always dig in even if I have a variety I do not intend to pursue in depth- so if this is common it surprises me that I haven’t yet heard of it. So, Mille Fleur is simply a gold Columbian on a wild type or brown base that carries a mottling gene. Spangled is typically Melanotic and the Pattern gene coupled with a Db modifier. If Columbian is present instead of Db you typically get partial half-moon lacing in the heterozygous form, which can look like spangles. In your boy they definitely look more like spangles than mottled spots, but this just wouldn’t be likely with the silver Columbian mother you are proposing. The question would be… where on Earth would Pg and Ml come from if the mother was actually silver Columbian??? Mille Fleur certainly shouldn’t carry them so they would have to come from the mom. Judging by the son (your silver quail boy), he definitely has at least Melanotic to give that heavy black in the hackles and saddle, and that certainly didn’t come from daddy. So, the question remains, what did the mom actually look like? I know there are silver laced Watermaal overseas- is this a possibility? If so, then this boy makes much more sense coming from one of those silver laced than a silver Columbian. Please note silver laced may simply be called “silver”. If your silver quail boy had actually come from a silver Columbian hen I would expect to be looking mostly at a silver Columbian cock with brassy yellow leakage due to the one gold gene in your boy and that is just not what I see. I see a partial spangled silver quail.
So, my conclusion is one of two possibilities: a hyper-melanized Columbian dam x Mille Fleur Barbu de Watermael to yield a genotype something like the following:
E^+, e^b or some combination
mo, MO^+ to show some black
S, s^+ leaky silver
ML, ml^+ to show melanization
And everything else the “+” versions
The other possibility is that mom is actually silver laced (like a silver Sebright) and the genotype is more like:
E^R, e^+ or e^b
Db, db^+ to cover up Birchen
Co, Co Columbian from both sides
ML, ml^+ to put dark striping in hackles and partial spangles
Pg, pg^+ to combine with ML and form half lacing/partial spangles
S, s^+ to make leaky yellow silver
Everything else the default “+” versions.
Now for the other modifiers: Since Db (the dominant gene that causes black tailed buff) restricts black in the hackle and black is actually desired here in moderation (check out the black striping in the hackle of the sire- his markings are more indicative of a Columbian genotype, not necessarily replaced nor accompanied by Db), and to my knowledge Db is not a common gene in Mille Fleur varieties. Most likely you are dealing only with Columbian modifiers from both parents, but it is possible one parent carried Db… just not as likely if the mom was a silver Columbian. It is true the two can be difficult to tell apart except in the presence of Birchen, but quantity and clarity of black striping in the hackles of homozygotes can be a good indicator as well. Note if this bird is a carrier of Db, I would guess a heterozygote.
Pattern genes: ok, mottled is a recessive pattern modifier but it is notorious for partial expression in a heterozygous state. Most frequently this manifests as white spotting in the wings and around the head in the second year but a single copy it CAN be responsible for some spangle like patterns that lack the white tips as well (I have seen this in accidental mottled quail I hatched out of mottled before). Mottled is thus a simple recessive that is genetically distinct from Spangled, but the two can sometimes have some similar effects. I have not actually heard of it (spangled) being carried in Mille Fleur or other mottled patterns before. I have spent a lot of time on genetic forums and recently quite a bit of time lurking in the Mille Fleur breeders FB groups because I have a trio of Mille Fleur d’Anvers and I always dig in even if I have a variety I do not intend to pursue in depth- so if this is common it surprises me that I haven’t yet heard of it. So, Mille Fleur is simply a gold Columbian on a wild type or brown base that carries a mottling gene. Spangled is typically Melanotic and the Pattern gene coupled with a Db modifier. If Columbian is present instead of Db you typically get partial half-moon lacing in the heterozygous form, which can look like spangles. In your boy they definitely look more like spangles than mottled spots, but this just wouldn’t be likely with the silver Columbian mother you are proposing. The question would be… where on Earth would Pg and Ml come from if the mother was actually silver Columbian??? Mille Fleur certainly shouldn’t carry them so they would have to come from the mom. Judging by the son (your silver quail boy), he definitely has at least Melanotic to give that heavy black in the hackles and saddle, and that certainly didn’t come from daddy. So, the question remains, what did the mom actually look like? I know there are silver laced Watermaal overseas- is this a possibility? If so, then this boy makes much more sense coming from one of those silver laced than a silver Columbian. Please note silver laced may simply be called “silver”. If your silver quail boy had actually come from a silver Columbian hen I would expect to be looking mostly at a silver Columbian cock with brassy yellow leakage due to the one gold gene in your boy and that is just not what I see. I see a partial spangled silver quail.
So, my conclusion is one of two possibilities: a hyper-melanized Columbian dam x Mille Fleur Barbu de Watermael to yield a genotype something like the following:
E^+, e^b or some combination
mo, MO^+ to show some black
S, s^+ leaky silver
ML, ml^+ to show melanization
And everything else the “+” versions
The other possibility is that mom is actually silver laced (like a silver Sebright) and the genotype is more like:
E^R, e^+ or e^b
Db, db^+ to cover up Birchen
Co, Co Columbian from both sides
ML, ml^+ to put dark striping in hackles and partial spangles
Pg, pg^+ to combine with ML and form half lacing/partial spangles
S, s^+ to make leaky yellow silver
Everything else the default “+” versions.
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). But my irritation was re-ignited two years ago when I hatched yet another poorly marked mottled d’Anvers that I sent to a guy with some Porcelain to test breed for the mottled gene. She produced 100% mottled babies, confirming my suspicion (much to my disgust). The parents showed no signs of the gene even as three year olds grrr. It relit an inner desire within me, actually, to hunt out and exterminate this gene for good. I just purchased Mille Fleur hatching eggs last year to deal specifically with identifying mottled carriers in my blacks and dealing with this problem once and for all. So, my suggestion is maintain some pure mottled carriers and use them to test breed, keep good records and deal with it early. Don’t be like me and assume the recessive will be lost with time as long as you select against the ones that appear to be carriers. 
