I have buttons and they are AMAZING birds.
If you're just going to get them as pets, get a male and a female or two or more females. Some people have been able to keep multiple females with a single male, but i've seen it cause fights. They do best in mated pairs, but be aware that they will mate constantly and at inappropriate times (mine find my visiting best friend's voice to be especially, ahem, stimulating) and the female will lay an egg every day if she has adequate light. They often won't incubate their eggs and if you plan on breeding you'll need to use an incubator. I personally just put the eggs into the fridge for eating. Their eggs are small, about five equals one chicken egg, but they are extremely delicious. I've used them for baking very tasty cupcakes and made teeny tiny deviled eggs for a party that were a MAJOR hit!
You'll need about a square foot of floor space per bird. I have six quail, two of whom are a mated pair and live in a large guinea pig cage with a deep pan and the other four females live together in a separate pen, all with corn cob litter. You can keep them in a fish tank but more air flow is healthier as birds do have delicate respiratory systems. When they're frightened, which is often, they will "boink" straight up several feet and can hurt themselves, so it's vital to pad the top of their enclosure padded with foam or a suspended stretched piece of springy fabric at least until you can keep them from boinking. I keep one wing on each bird closely clipped, and that reduces boinks after they realize they're not getting any lift when they jump. Even clipped, though, they can still clear twelve inches just by jumping.
They also like to stand in high places but can't perch, so a smallish cardboard box with a few holes cut in the side makes a fun hide as well as a lookout. They'll also appreciate regular access to a sand bath, but be aware that they will throw sand EVERYWHERE.
They're not generally noisy, but their flock call can be quite loud if they want it to be. One of my single ladies decided she wanted a mate and called every few minutes for four days. I could hear her from outside of my house. It's about as loud as a cockatiel's call. My mated female makes a weird Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch! call (usually a threat call) when she lays an egg to let me know to come get it and bring her a treat while i'm at it. The males crow, but it's very quiet compared to the female noises!
Something i've found with indoor buttons is that the recommended high-protein game bird crumble makes their poo stink something fierce. I feed mine Harrison's organic high potency pellets mixed 60/40 with a good finch seed blend. I also offer freeze-dried bugs mixed into store-bought egg food every day, daily veggies and fruits like kale, broccoli, clover, spring greens, apple, etc., and live feeder cockroaches and decapitated mealworms about twice a week. I'll occasionally throw a mashed-up hard-boiled egg into their treat dish. Their diet needs to be about 25% protein. They also need a lot of calcium, especially females, which you can give with ground oyster shell.
I also have a parakeet, and he wanted very much to make friends with the quail. They mistook his toes for mealworms, though, and i separated them to prevent injury to either party.
They're sorta like the fancy mice of the poultry world. They're cute, easy to keep, and fun to watch, but not really cuddly. Three of mine are semi-tame and will take treats from my hand. One will let me hold her and nestle down into my hand, but she doesn't actively seek my company. The others shy away from my hands and wriggle when i have to hold them, but i can sit next to their pen and they'll come over and watch me in hopes of treats. Hand-raised birds are friendliest, but if you're buying from a local breeder you may not get a choice. Mine were from an outdoor breeder, though, and it only took a month for them to see me as a provider instead of a predator.
I hope you get as much joy and fulfillment from your future quail as i have, and if you have any other questions please ask.
