IMHO, $20 for a good quality healthy POL pullet is a bargain.
It is true that some people used to sell for $10, some still do. Some even give birds away.
You may not be ready to pay $20 per hen but anyone selling for that price is in effect, giving birds away.
Depending on time of year, it costs me $25-35 or more to raise a bird to point of lay. That is without any consideration for my time and skill.
One must buy or build an incubator. That can run from $100 to thousands of dollars.
One must pay for the electric to run the incubator.
One must pay for the electric to brood the chicks, Not to mention the equipment to brood - whether that be heat lamps, hoods, cords or hover brooders.
One must house the birds. That infrastructure needs constant maintenance.
One must provide bedding as they grow which is usually pine shavings. That costs about $6 or $7 per bale.
One must feed the birds. Even if one buys the cheapest feed available, it still costs a lot to feed a bird to the point of lay.
Feed runs from about $12 to $18 for a 40 or 50# bag. Organic can run up to $30 or more.
Before I'd sell a POL bird for less than $20 I'd eat it.
You don't want to buy discount birds because they may not have been well cared for or well fed.
Poor nutrition = poor production.
I used to sell perfect SOP trios (1 cockerel and 2 pullets) for $100. Then someone gave me a ration of crap and I did the math. It cost me $100 to raise the birds to 6 months of age so I was giving them away. I've since raised the price to $250.
