You're right to be caustious gracie! there are a lot of crooks in the chicken world!
Wherever you go to look at chicks, check them over first, make sure they are bright eyed and bushy tailed! not moping around, check their vent area to make sure its clean.
I have heard that some suppliers don't let you in, they tell you to wait at the door while they go and get you some chickens! If they don't let you see where and how the chicks live, run a mile!
Our set up may not be the most professional one going, but people are always welcomed in to meet the 'family' and see what we do. All the chicks I raise are my babies until they go to their new homes or in the freezer! lol and I try to give them a good life, although I'm trying to get my Brian to do more than he has before, as it was him who wanted to be a poultry farmer, not me! lol