Best place/way to buy chicks

[The Sniper]

For quite a while now my nearby Rural King has been selling almost all their chicks for the low low price of only $2.01.
They are all marked as $4.99, but over that marked $2.01 and they no longer have limits as to how many chickies you can buy at once. Rural King sources chicks from Hoover Hatcheries, who sells chicks for a base price of $3.69 currently
Also all their chicks seem to be partly feathered, which just means they are more likely to survive without any issues.
If anybody knows another cheaper way I would love to know, as would probably anybody else who wants to expand their flocks.

 

[500Chickens]

I buy from hoovers hatchery

 

[BigBlueHen53]

When buying at RK or similar feed stores, it's hard to know what gender you're getting. We prefer to order from a hatchery. For years we've gotten mail-order chicks with few disasters and the hatcheries always made good on those. One year a freak blizzard blew in while the chicks were in transit, with no survivors; the hatchery replaced the entire order at no cost.

This year I carelessly ordered chicks to arrive in mid-July and realized too late that I'd set myself up for another disaster. Fortunately I'd ordered from a hatchery in state, so my GC and I drove up to the hatchery and picked them up. All 21 are doing fine!

One advantage of ordering from a hatchery is that they have trained professionals who can vent-sex the babies. It's not 100% guaranteed accurate, but at 80- 90% it's a lot better than hoping for the best at a feed store! I've always gotten what I ordered from a hatchery.

Another option is buying from a breeder, but ... do your homework.

 

[The Sniper]

But still it doesnt beat $2. You would pay more for sexed males from Hoover or Cackle or Murray, and even rare breeds are $2
Any roosters is just a $2 sunday dinner to me, and I can always count on them surviving transport because I transport them myself. the RK is actually 45 miles from home but the next best is a TSC 11 miles away with $5 straight runs.
Also Ive learned many chicks can be sexed without professionals or vents, as many have distinctive patterns from the moment they hatch, not all, and not 100% accurate, but I got 11/12 females from RK using that method

 

[Altairsky]

If a cheap price is what matters the most for you, then go for it.
To me, price matters zero. I only buy from private breeders that I meet at bird exhibitions. I drive up to 200 miles to go to their location and buy fertile eggs. I never buy chicks or larger birds anyway because I'm too lazy to do all the quarantine shenanigans.

 

[PoppasGrill]

We get quite a few from RK. Our lady does a good job at getting pullets for us, 85%<>, I think of the last 40 we got 2 cockerel, a couple more before that.
We incubated and hatched 15 of our own and got 5 cockerels out of the clutch.
We’ve never gotten directly from a hatchery.

 

[Sally PB]

Another option is buying from a breeder, but ... do your homework.

Absolutely do your homework. Some are good, honest, and do the best they can to ensure healthy birds and happy customers. Others are less so.

 

[nuthatched]

There is a quality issue that needs to be addressed. Hoovers birds aren't great.