Breed and Strain Differences in Shank Pigmentation in Growing Chickens

Abstract

THE degree of pigmentation of the shanks is one factor determining the selling price of live chickens. Among buyers of live broilers a shank possessing a deep shade of yellow is preferred to one having a light shade of yellow. Certain poultry diseases influence the degree of skin and shank pigmentation. Bleaching of the shanks, for example, is one of the early signs of the presence of coccidiosis. Respiratory diseases also modify the degree of shank pigmentation in the growing chicken. Hammond and Harshaw (1941), Culton and Bird (1941), Bird (1942), and others have shown that the ration can decidedly influence the deposition of yellow pigment in the skin and shanks of the growing chicken. Lambert and Knox (1927) suggested there was a close relationship between the yellow color of the beak and shanks and the color of the skin. Observation of a limited number of chickens by Culton and …