Price of orpingtons!

A while back I got my mum two lovely buff orpingtons (pol) after she lost one of her bantams, they were £15 each. My other half really wants us to get some to join or flock but everyone is selling then for £35 or more even at just 16 weeks old! Is this just the price of them now?

Ive even noticed that over here, the prices charged for chooks in the small ads are ridiculous. I was hoping to get a couple of "different" chooks when I restart my henhouse, nothing too exotic, maybe a Brahma and an Orpie, but they charge between 20-30 euros over here, and around 15€ for what I call ordinary chooks.
Luckily, our actual breeder where we get our "ordinary" girls from charges around 8€ each, and 13€ for cockerals. They are POL supposedly, although each time Ive bought them, Ive had to wait longer and longer for them to start doing the bizzo!

Its just lucky that Ive found myself a supplier of great free range eggs, who is very reasonable, and is now what I consider to be a good friend, so good can come from bad!

I know breeders still have to make money and I would pay up to £25 for them each but when I'm looking at getting just two and it adds up to £70 I just can't justify that for a non show type pet hen

Now we were at a chicken place yesterday. Very nice, clean pens, helpful staff. All looks new. Large fowl Orpingtons up to £95 each! Jubilee was the most expensive I think.

You can get a trio of buff Orpingtons fromSouthampton for £45. They are on preloved.