Thanks, all for responding. Someone at my mom's work just said that if the non-hand raised birds are sold alone, they will be very unhappy birds for the rest of their lives, so they *MUST* be sold in pairs. Does that sound right to you all?

PCB, no worries, I will keep my tiel separate from my cats.
Another thing, PCB...? How can you tell how old the tiel is? AAAAAnd, can you teach them to talk? Thanks.

t_m, you think I should get a hand-raised one? Why? (Not trying to be all sarcastic, I just want your opinion. Thanks.)