BLACK pigmentation of the inner layer of the abdominal cavity is a normal character in wild-type poultry. In modern breeds where the incidence usually is low the character can be regarded as a quality factor. To outsiders the presence of melanin in the abdomen can give the impression of an unsound carcass. The character was studied by Jaap (1955 Jaap (1958) and by Huntsman et al. (1959, 1960). From their information it has become clear that besides the influence of sex, there is a rather big number of well known genes which promote or suppress the incidence of the deposition of melanin. By observing a large number of birds one gets the impression that there is a continuous variability in this character. Influence was reported from C—c, colour versus recessive white, E—e, extended black versus Columbian pattern, B—b, barring versus non-barring, S—s, silver versus gold and I . . .
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A. R. Kuit (1967) studied this question.