Relationship of Yellow and “Green” or Dark Shanks to Skin Color and Pigmentation Evaluation of Broilers

Eight-week old female broilers (27 with yellow shanks and 27 with green shanks) were processed and the shanks and skin (over and between the ventral feather tracts) were evaluated for pigmentation with a reflectance colorimeter. The measurements (dominant wavelength, excitation purity and luminosity) were all significantly lower for the green or dark shanks than for the yellow shanks. The same measurements for the skin were not significantly different for the birds with yellow and green shanks. This was true for the skin over the feather tract and between the feather tracts.