I used to buy my hens from a poultry farm were the hens are kept in a barn
i would go to buy 5 but end up coming home with 25 because they are all going to be slaughtered.
After a few years my friend who has a farm said he has a stable that is empty most of the time and if i wanted to save more from slaughter then i can use this
When its time for the hens to be slaughtered i get a call letting me know and i then go and buy 50 and advertise them were i can so as to find them new homes,
after the 50 have been re-homed i then buy another 50 and do the same until i have re-homed them all or they have none left cause they gone to the slaughter place
I buy the food for them and my friend gets the eggs for letting me use his stable and looking after them
I have to charge a small amount as i have to buy them and feed them till they are re-homed
I normally manage to find homes for about 120 -150 each time and this is about 3 times a year