Good article. The cheapest place to get chickens, from my experience, is at a local small livestock auction. People bring their animals there in cages and cardboard boxes and they auction them all at random. On a week where there was a lot of chickens, towards the end there was a very nice pair of pullets that no one was bidding on because they had already had their fill of quail, chicks and hens, hatching eggs and roosters and the like. I got them both for a total of eight dollars. Prices are subject to mob rule at auctions which is a very entertaining dynamic even if you aren't bidding yourself. Definitely check Facebook or ask around to see if there is a local auction barn in your area.