My experience with quail is limited to the one male Gambel's quail I have, he's now about 4-1/2 months old and most of his adult plumage is in.
As a pet, I think he's really delightful! When he was little, he liked to be held but not so much as he got older. However, he will perch on my shoulder for lengthy periods of time when I'm sitting down or walking around the house. He will perch on my arm for a while, he'll run up and down my legs and around on my lap picking at my clothes when I'm sitting. He follows me all over the house, either running on the floor behind me, or occasionally flying short distances to "catch up" when he gets side-tracked looking at something that interests him. Anything I'm doing, he wants to see -- if I'm typing he pecks on the keyboard, hard enough to "make letters". Some moving things on my computer screen catch his attention and he'll watch them for a couple of minutes.
Because he does fly at times, I keep window curtains closed when he is out of his cage so he doesn't fly at the clear glass thinking there is something reachable. Most of his flights are brief, short, fast bursts in a circular path but occasionally he goes higher.
After he has been out of his cage for around an hour, he's more amenable to sitting on my lap and letting me just pet him without him moving away. He's not afraid of my hands, and I can touch him anywhere, but he's an active bird who doesn't often want to sit still. But ... I've found that when he is sitting up on top of one of the rabbit cages (also indoor pets), he'll let me pet him pretty much until I feel like stopping. If I stroke his head and down his back, he'll even at times close his eyes for a short while.
Usually he's only out for about an hour at a time. I think if he were out for longer periods, he'd calm down enough that he might be easier to cuddle in my hand for a while. As it is though, an hour seems hardly long enough for the exploring he wants to do.
He makes a lot of noises -- little "whimper" sounds, soft "qweep qweep" chirps, and he has 3 different calls as to crowing.
Yeah, he poops. I don't worry about it when it falls on the floor because it dries up to a very small "bead" in a little while and can be swept up quickly. But I clean up with a tissue when it gets on my clothes or desk, etc. I ordered a "Flight Suit" for him a couple of weeks ago, and once I can get it to stay on him (it needs some adjustment as to size), his poops will fall into the collection pouch designed to fit under his vent and there will be less concern when he's out and about.
