First you need to research your city laws and find out if you can even have chickens. Secondly, you need to have a place for them to live, all the equipment needed (feeders, waterers, etc.) BEFORE you get them, and you need to have a plan as to how you're going to take care of them and be able to buy feed each month, and know that you'll have time to properly care for them. The "OH! I just got chickens and have no idea where I'm going to put them or how I'm going to afford feed for them - HELP!!!" method does not do anyone any good. After you have all that figured out, then it's time to do more research and find out how you can rescue a few battery hens. Do a search on BYC - there have been posts by people who have done so, and maybe you could PM some of them and ask for help and ideas.