Raising chickens part three; Which do I choose, the chicken or the eggs or somewhere in between?

Now that you know which breed is for you, we need to discuss what to purchase. There are basically five choices to choose from. 1) hatching eggs, many hatcheries and breeders sell fertilized eggs for you to place in your own incubator to hatch your own. I would not recommend starting here, incubating can be challenging for the experienced breeder, much less the novice. 2) Chicks, This is where most people begin their chicken raising adventures. They are inexpensive, and there are tons of breeds from which to choose from, not to mention they are extremely cute! If you choose to raise your own chicks it will give you the opportunity it watch then grow up and bond with them as they grow. However there are some challenges when raising chicks, but with the right know how everyone can brood baby chicks , yes even you kids with adult supervision. It's a great way to teach them about being responsible, and learning about life and death. There are several places to buy baby chicks, you can choose to buy them at your local farm store, but be forewarned, these birds are sold as "straight run" which means they are not separated by sex, so you might just come home with a whole bunch of roosters, these chicks also sell at a higher price than mail order hatcheries and local breeders, and there is a limited selection. You can decide to buy from a reputable mail order hatchery. They have every breed under the son, and you can order by sex, females sell for a slightly higher price than roosters because females are a little more desirable. This is important if I you can't have roosters in your area, or only want one rooster to avoid fighting, boys will be boys. it's important to shop around, because some hatcheries have large minimum order quantities, while others will let you buy one or two at a time. There is just something nostalgic about going to the post office to pick up your chirping cuties. I once ordered 28 baby chicks from a hatchery in Iowa, they all showed up at my local post office alive and chirping up a storm, when I called to check if they had arrived I could here them chirping over the phone, I bet the mailman was happy to see me take these chicks home. Another place to purchase chicks is at the local sale barn or flea market. If you do decide to go hat route do your homework, there are some reputable breeders with good stock at these places, but they are outnumbered by lesser breeders that are there to make a buck and offload some sick animals. Just remember the old adage is true "you get what you pay for". If you go to these places make sure to wash your shoes before caring for your own animals, because you can carry some bad bugs and diseases on your shoes. Many chicken raisers refuse to visit these places because of all the diseased animals you find there. I learned this lesson the hard way when I purchased several chickens for a "unbelievable deal" by the next weekend all the birds had died and even infected some of my other chickens. Buyer beware. Probably the best way to purchase chicks is from local reputable farmer/breeders,  they have the best quality stock, and they really love the animals in their care. Besides, we need to support our local farmers as much as we can.
3) the third way to buy chickens is as "ready to lay pullets" these are juvenile hens that are just about ready to start laying eggs. This is also one of the more expensive ways to get into chickens, they usually range between 10 and 25 dollars each, but at this age you will be able to see exactly what you are buying, where as with chicks you can't tell if it will be a good hen or a cull hen. There are some hatcheries that sell these birds, but the best way to find them is with a local farmer/breeder. 4) you can choose to buy hens, females at least one year old, this is not a very good way to purchase chickens, you will either get a "lazy layer" or birds that have been culled from large layer houses, most of these large egg operations sell their birds after one year since hens usually peak at a year or two.

Hope this helps as you prepare to start your chicken raising adventure.