My Pet Chicken only ships three to large cities. I live three hours from the one they ship to here, and not knowing a delivery date would make it pretty hard to get them shipped.
My ideas:
1. Find some friends who want to order with you, and order together as one order.
2. Order the 25 and list some chickens of your OWN on craig's list.
3. If you have a good county fair near you, you may be able to buy chickens there. I never have, but I know that there are always some for sale at our county fair. There are more rare breeds available there too.
ALSO:
Search Craigslist for LAYING HENS or PULLETS. I found a man in my area that owns a farm, and is taking reservations for hens now. He hatches his chicks, and will grow them to the age you want them. (waiting until they are laying costs you more.) He guarentees sex, so if for some reason "you" got a late blooming Rooster, he'd replace it with a hen. Sent him $20.00 to hold four pullets, and if I change my mind, he'll refund half. I'll be picking them up in June. It's a pretty cool deal when you don't want to order a billion chicks and have to deal with the possibilities of not getting the sex you want.