Hubby has had quail. (you'd be hard pressed to find anythinghe hasn't had, without being silly and saying elephants or whales) None of his birds are classed as 'pets' and so are not handled more than necessary, but I don't think you'd call quail pets, any more than you would pheasants, say. They're usually kept in other bird's cages as they eat all the food that the other birds drop. They lay little eggs with brown marks on that are edible, but are very fiddly to cook and peel as you'd need about six to be equal to one hen's egg. They can live inside or out, with good protection for the winter. 
