It's a personal choice. Chicks are a bit of bother to raise, although you could raise them in your coop at this time of year. They might need a heat lamp for a few weeks weeks. You'll probably find they avoid being under the heat lamp around 3 weeks of age if you raise them in your coop. Hens at point of lay are not easy to find, and you can't tell how old they are once they're adults, so it's not unusual for people to sell hens who have stopped laying, or slowed down considerably. You can have pullets around the age they start to lay) shipped, but it is risky and expensive. A lot depends where you are going to buy them. You can mail order from a hatchery or buy chicks (seasonally) at feed stores. Those chicks are usually shipped from a hatchery. They are usually a week or two old (the store should tell you) so have recovered from the stress of shipping and will need little or no heat. Or you can find a breeder or farm in your area to sell you some birds. You might check out our Buy Sell Trade forum. Be careful of using a source you're not familiar with, such as a stranger on Craig's list, as they sometimes either are too old to lay or have a disease.
That's what I can think of, off the top of my head, anyway.
Feed is simple enough. For young chicks, starter or starter/grower feed. Once they start laying, layer feed, either crumbles or pellets. Many people offer oyster shell separately to laying hens, as a calcium supplement. Or feed flock raiser to any age, but be sure to provide calcium for the laying hens.
