Estimation of abdominal fat in laying hens, turkeys and broilers using calipers

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Abstract
SUMMARY: Measurements were taken on 36 laying hens, 46 growing female turkeys and 36 broiler chickens using modified abdominal fat calipers to determine the prediction of abdominal fat in different classes of poultry. Four pairs of caliper measurements were taken on each bird by three operators (layers and turkeys) and one operator (broilers). The live laying hens and the plucked turkey carcasses were also scored for fatness. The caliper measurements were significantly related to the proportion of abdominal fat (g abdominal fat/kg body weight) in all three groups of birds. The correlation was greater in laying hens (0·81) and turkeys (0·76) than in broilers (0·51). There were significant operator effects upon the prediction of abdominal fat. In each case the measures obtained by two practised operators gave better prediction of abdominal fat than those from an unpractised operator.