Influence of Pigments in Starter and Finisher/Withdrawal Diets on Broiler Skin and Shank Pigmentation

Chicks that had been reared to 3 weeks of age on diets containing either 0, 50, or 100% corn as the cereal were distributed across three finisher/withdrawal diets varying in pigment level and type. A corn-soy basal diet was compared with a diet with 6% added corn gluten meal and also with a third diet with 3% corn gluten meal plus Hi Glo2, a commercial mix of predominantly red carotenoid pigments. When slaughtered at 52 days of age, there were no differences in breast skin or shank skin pigmentation due to level of corn xanthophyll in starter diets. This suggests that pigment levels in starter diets are of little significance for skin pigmentation broilers at slaughter age. Breast and shank skin pigmentation was significantly improved by the addition of 6% corn gluten and by a combination of 3% gluten plus the red pigment source. There was little difference between the two treatments with gluten, indicating that the red pigment source can be used as a partial substitute for xanthophyll to obtain desirable broiler skin color.