Egg Vending Machine at Glaum Ranch

Sure, you could go and buy your eggs at the grocery store like everyone else. Or, you could go and get yourself 18 cage-free eggs from the vending machine at the Glaum Egg Ranch in Aptos, California, a farm that features dancing animatronic chickens. Yep, dancing chickens. 

Stick four crisp dollar bills in the slot and out comes a tray of 18 fresh eggs while a chorus of animatronic chickens in seasonal attire sing and dance for you. The costumes change, but no matter the holiday, their song remains the same: a clucking version of Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood,” by Henhouse Five Plus Too (Ray Stevens).

The vending machine is an invention of the late Marvin Glaum, who died in 2004. Marvin’s father started Glaum Egg Ranch back in Nebraska before moving his family to California in the 1940s. He later took over the family business, which he moved from Live Oak to its current spot in Aptos.

An innovator with a mechanical flair, Marvin gained wide recognition in the U.S. egg industry. Marvin and his wife Dorothy Glaum's four children began helping at the ranch from a young age, gathering eggs and delivering them to neighbors. It was his idea to create the vending machine, though it’s gone through a lot of changes over all these years.

The Atlas Obscura Podcast is a short, daily celebration of all the world's strange and wondrous places. Check out this episode about Glaum Egg Ranch.