I plan on getting new chicks each year to always have fresh layers in the coop. I started my flock last year with 18 brown egg layers from McMurray Hatchery. This year I decided to look local and I had someone local sell me 5 barnyard mix chicks (of Buff Brahma, Rhode Island Red and Dominique) for only $1.50 each and they were raised by my broody hen. But I really wanted some Easter Eggers. I got one from a friend and I found someone an hour away who has a mini hatchery and raises beautiful and rarer breeds. He sold me 3 Easter Egger chicks for $3 a piece and threw a free one in there. About a week later we noticed one of them had crooked toes and when I told him he immediately gave me replacement chicks (3 of them!) for free! So this year I refreshed my flock with 13 chicks for only $16.50 total! That's less then the shipping alone on my other chickens!
