i would start with eggs and hatch them yourself. here on BYC there are LOTS of people who practically give away coturnix eggs! u have had better luck hatching shipped coturnix eggs than any other eggs. first time 18 out of 20 eggs hatched, second 17 out of 17, and then 9 out of 10. i would say that's pretty good, eh? i've had terrible luck with other species. as low as nothing out of 2 dozen.
A&Ms are hard to tell the sex. i have a few and no clue. they are really great birds to raise, are vigorous and hardy and delicious! i prefer their eggs though, i really do. i could never kill and eat Batman, Fidget, Crash or Domino! they tame really well to the point that you can just pick them up and cuddle them like i do with batman!
i personally think the regular wild type (brown? pharaoh?) are the prettiest. batman has what looks like blue tips on some of his feathers! he is a darling. nearly flew away yesterday! i was holding him and he fluttered off. he landed at the end of the driveway and seemed really happy when i picked him up. he just sat there and let me. made all kinds of happy noises when i did and snuggled me a bit. they tame VERY well!
