Repletion and Depletion of Pigmentation in Broiler Skin and Shanks

BROILER producers and processors claim that there is a lack of correlation between skin and shank color (Painter, 1969). Work reported by Davies et al. (1969) showed this to be true when pigmentation of skin and shanks was measured using a Hunterlab D-20 color difference meter. Runnels et al. (1966) also found no correlation; however, Culton and Bird (1941), Hammond and Harshaw (1941) and Fry et al. (1969) showed shank color to be highly indicative of skin color. The studies reported herein were conducted to determine whether differential rates existed in the repletion and depletion of pigmentation in the skin and shanks of broilers. MATERIALS AND METHODS (EXPERIMENT 1) Eighteen floor pens were used, each containing five male and five female broiler-type chicks (Peterson × Peterson). Two replicate groups of each treatment were used. The diets (Table 1) were designed to be of low, medium and high xanthophyll content. A…