Abdominal Fat Of Broilers Research Articles

Influence of Dietary Cinnamon Oil Supplementation on Fatty Acid Composition of Liver and Abdominal Fat in Broiler Chicken

Dalkilic, B., Ciftci, M., Guler, T., Cerci, I.H., Ertas, O.N. and Guvenc, M. 2009. Influence of dietary cinnamon oil supplementation on fatty acid composition of liver and abdominal fat in broiler chicken. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 35: 173–176. The potential effects of essential oil from cinnamon on fatty acid compositions of liver and abdominal fat in broilers were studied. Two hundred and forty 5-d-old commercial broiler chicks (Ross–308) were divided into 4 equal groups of 60 birds in each and randomly assigned to four treatment diets with four replicates. Experimental groups were; corn-soybean meal basal diet (Control), basal diet supplemented with 10 mg/kg Avilamycin (Antibiotic), 500 or 1000 ppm of cinnamon oil (C500, C1000). Poly unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid levels of liver lipids were found higher but saturated fatty acid (SFA) levels were found lower in cinnamon oil added groups. The lowest mono unsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) level and the highest SFA level of abdominal fat were found in control group. Supplementation of cinnamon oil to diets could be considered as a natural alternative for producing poultry meat with more desirable PUFA.

Early energy and protein reduction: effects on growth, blood profiles and expression of genes related to protein and fat metabolism in broilers

1. A total of 320-d-old Ross broilers were used in a 6-week study to investigate the effects of feeding lower energy and protein diets from d 8 to 14 on growth performance, blood profiles, and gene expression of leptin and myostatin. 2. Broilers were randomly allotted to 4 treatments, each treatment applied to 4 pens with 20 birds in each. During first week, all the birds were fed on a common starter diet (13·4 MJ ME/kg, 230 g/kg CP and 11·0 g/kg lysine). The birds were then subjected to their respective treatment diets from d 8 to 14. Treatment diets comprised two ME levels, 13·4 and 12·0 MJ/kg, each with two levels of CP, 230 and 184 g/kg. This was followed by feeding common starter and finisher diets for the last 4 weeks. 3. Dietary protein reduction resulted in poor performance and feed efficiency while energy reduction resulted in poor feed efficiency between d 8 and 14. From d 14 to 42 birds previously fed diets lower in energy and protein showed similar body weight gain and feed intake to well-fed birds. Moreover from d 8 to 14, birds fed on energy and protein-reduced diets had lower nutrient metabolisability coefficients. 4. The blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and relative weights of heart and breast muscle were lower in birds fed protein-reduced diets while energy reduction resulted in lower plasma glucose, abdominal fat and intestinal weight at d 14. At d 42, birds fed on the protein-reduced diets had lower BUN, breast muscle weight and small intestine length, while feeding on the energy-reduced diets resulted in lower abdominal fat. 5. Upregulated myostatin mRNA expression in breast muscle and downregulation of leptin mRNA expression in abdominal fat were observed in birds fed on protein and energy-reduced diets, respectively. 6. In conclusion, early nutrient reduction affected growth performance and produced lesser abdominal fat in broilers. Moreover, early energy and/or protein reduction could change muscle and fat metabolism by regulating the expressions of myostatin and leptin.

A Simple System to Increase the Physical Activity of Broilers in Order to Reduce Body Fat

This study investigated an inexpensive housing practice to reduce the abdominal fat in broilers without producing detrimental effects on the birds body weight, skeletal structural integrity, or meat quality. A riser system was used where treatment birds had to jump up in order to access water, jump back down, walk approximately 0.9 m, and then jump up again in order to access food. This treatment began when the birds were three weeks old. The riser had an initial height of 76 mm, and this height was increased 38 mm every three days until a final height of 228 mm was reached. The study ended when the birds were seven weeks old. The riser system had neither detrimental nor beneficial effects on the structural integrity of the tibia, and reduced body abdominal fat. Statistical analysis of the data indicated that the riser treatment had no significant effect on meat tenderness or acidity.

Physiological Responses of Broiler Chicks Fed Various Level of Dopamine and Zinc

The influences of dopamine (DA) and zinc (Zn) on some physiological parameters of plasma such as growth hormone, cholesterol, 3-glyceride and growth rate, feed conversion ratio and abdominal fat of broilers between the ages of 21 to 42 day were investigated. The experiment was designed on a total of 180 commercial meat-type chicks as a randomized complete block with a 3x2x2 factorial arrangement of treatments with three levels of DA (0, 50 and 100 mg kg(-1)) and two levels of Zn (0 and 40 mg kg(-1)) in each sex. At the first day of trial, chicks were randomly distributed in 36 boxes at the same condition until day 15. Then, the treatments were administered in a low dosage for acclimating of chicks to them. From day of 21, the main dose of treatments was used. The effects of DA and Zn and interaction between them on cholesterol concentration of plasma were significant (p < 0.05). But the effects on concentration of growth hormone (GH) and 3-glyceride of plasma were not significant. The maximum concentration ofcholesterol in plasma was observed in male chicks administered 40 mg kg(-1) of Zn and the minimum concentration was related to female chicks administered 50 mg kg(-1) of DA. In this period, the main and interaction effects of all treatments on weight gain mean of chicks were significant. Also, Zn and DA and interaction of DA x sex improved feed conversion ratio (p < 0.05). The results of this experiment confirmed the lipolytic effect of DA on plasma cholesterol and abdominal fat and also showed that consumption of 100 mg kg(-1) of DA plus 40 mg kg(-1) of Zn cause to improve growth performance of male chicks.

Effect of manganese supplementation and source on carcass traits, meat quality, and lipid oxidation in broilers1

An experiment was conducted using a total of 336 one-day-old, Arbor Acres commercial male broilers to investigate the effect of dietary Mn supplementation on carcass traits, meat quality, lipid oxidation, relative enzyme activities in abdominal fat and meat, and Mn-containing superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) mRNA level in meat. Broilers were randomly allotted by BW to 1 of 8 replicate cages (6 chicks per cage) for each of 7 treatments in a completely randomized design involving a 2 x 3 factorial + 1 arrangement of treatments. Dietary treatments included the corn-soybean meal-based diet (control) and the basal diet supplemented with 100 or 200 mg of Mn/kg as MnSO(4) x H(2)O, Mn AA A with a chelation strength of 26.3 formation quotient (8.34% Mn), or Mn AA B with a chelation strength of 45.3 formation quotient (6.48% Mn). Birds fed supplemental Mn had lower (P < 0.10) percentages of abdominal fat, lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and malate dehydrogenase activities and greater (P < 0.07) hormone-sensitive lipase activities in abdominal fat than birds fed a control diet. Birds fed supplemental Mn from Mn AA A or Mn AA B had lower (P < 0.05) LPL activities in abdominal fat than those fed supplemental MnSO(4) x H(2)O. Birds fed supplemental Mn had lower (P < 0.03) malondialdehyde content in leg muscle and greater (P < 0.02) MnSOD activities and MnSOD mRNA level in breast or leg muscle than those fed the control diet. Birds fed supplemental Mn from Mn AA A had a greater (P < 0.02) MnSOD mRNA level in leg muscle than those fed supplemental MnSO(4) x H(2)O. Results from this study indicated that organic Mn was more available than inorganic Mn for decreasing LPL activity in abdominal fat of broilers, and dietary Mn might reduce abdominal adipose deposition by decreasing LPL and malate dehydrogenase activities or increasing hormone-sensitive lipase activity in abdominal adipose tissue. The results also indicated that dietary Mn upregulated muscle MnSOD gene expression pretranslationally in association with increased MnSOD activity, which might explain the decrease of malondialdehyde content in leg muscle.

Effects of Nutrient Density and Photoperiod on the Performance and Abdominal Fat of Broilers

The study investigated the effects of photoperiod and nutrient density on the performance and abdominal fat of broilers. Treatments consisted of a factorial arrangement of two diets containing 3200kcal/kg ME and 23% Protein and 2800kcal/kg ME and 18% Protein administered to broilers under either 12hour light per day, 8hour light per day or 6 hour light per day for 8 weeks. Results at market age showed that no significant interactions existed between nutrient density and photoperiod for feed intake, body weight gain and feed gain ratio (P > 0.05, P > 0.01). Also no significant interactions existed between factors for protein retention, fat utilization, available fibre, abdominal fat and cost to benefit ratio (P > 0.05, P > 0.01). Broilers subjected to low nutrient density diets experienced reduction in body weight gain and poorer feed to gain ratio (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). There was significant reduction in feed intake and abdominal fat of broilers exposed to only 6 hours of light per day as against the usual 12 hours of light per day (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). It was concluded that no meaningful interactions existed between nutrient density and photoperiod with respect to broilers performance. However, reducing photoperiod to 6 hours per day could be used as a tool for reducing abdominal fat hence, reducing sudden death syndrome and upgrading carcass quality of broilers.

Effects of different dietary lipids on the fatty acid composition of broiler abdominal fat

The effect of three different lipid sources (soybean oil, chicken oil or bovine fat) on the abdominal fat fatty acid composition in 50 day-old broiler chickens was evaluated. A completely randomized design was used, with 4 treatments, 8 repetitions and 40 Arbor Acres broiler chicks of each sex. The four treatments were isocaloric and isoproteic with the following characteristics: T1 Control (Soybean-corn); T2 Control + 3% soybean oil; T3 Control + 3% chicken oil; and T4 Control + 3% bovine fat. The lipids from the diets had significantly statistical effects (p<0,05) on the fatty acid composition of broiler abdominal fat. Multivariate techniques also showed differences in fatty acid composition within treatments due to sex. The studied dietary lipids affected the polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio (P/S) but had only small effects on the n-6: n-3 fatty acid ratio.

Effect of Adding Chicory Fructans in Feed on Broiler Growth Performance, Serum Cholesterol and Intestinal Length

This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of adding chicory fructans in feed on growth performance, intestinal length and structure of the broiler chicken. Inulin or oligofructose improved (P< 0.05) body weight gain, feed conversion, carcass weight, carcass percentage and increased the gut length of female birds. The beta fructans also reduced (P<0.05) serum cholesterol and abdominal fat of broilers. Inulin as well as oligofructose treated females had a more dense jejunum villi distribution in the small intestine.

Effects of dietary ammonium sulphate (AS) on the performance and abdominal fat of broilers

Two experiments were designed to investigate the response of broilers to dietary inclusion of ammonium sulphate. In experiment 1, day old chicks were fed diets with 0,1,2 or 3 % ammonium sulphate (AS) during the starter phase (0 –4 weeks). In experiment 2, broilers chicks were raised on a standard diet from 0 – 4 weeks of age and then switched to diets with 0,1,2 or 3% ammonium sulphate during the finisher phase ( 5- 8 weeks). In experiment 1, feed intake was significantly (P0.05). however, in experiment 2, both feed intake and weight gain at market age were significantly suppressed (P0.05). Dietary ammonium sulphate did not affect broilers liveability at any of the period. Protein retention was comparable (P>0.05) while fat availability was significantly reduced (P

Nutrient and fatty acid deposition in broilers fed different dietary fatty acid profiles

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different dietary fatty acid profiles on efficiency of energy, fat, nitrogen, and fatty acid deposition in broiler chickens. Sixty female broiler chickens were fed a basal diet without additional fat or with 4 other diets with different fats (tallow, olive, sunflower, and linseed oils) at 10% from 28 to 48 d of age. Among broilers fed diets with added fat, those fed linseed oil had less abdominal fat (in grams and percentage) than those fed tallow (P < 0.05). Absorbed fat losses were slightly higher for birds fed linseed oil, and nitrogen efficiency was lower in those fed tallow (P < 0.05). However, there were not significant differences in energy deposition among broilers fed diets with added fat. Fatty acid balance showed the highest values of fatty acid oxidation during the experimental period in broilers fed linseed oil (48.2 g), followed by those fed sunflower oil (23.2 g). Contribution of endogenous fat synthesis to total body fat deposition was minimal in birds fed diets with added fat accounting for 3, 1.2, 8.5, and 7.5 g for broilers fed tallow, olive, sunflower, and linseed oils, respectively. This reflects lipogenesis inhibition by dietary fat addition. Interestingly, between broilers fed diets with added fat, higher values of fatty acids from endogenous synthesis were found in broilers fed diets rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Results suggest that reduction of abdominal fat in broilers fed linseed oil seems to be a consequence of higher lipid oxidation despite the higher synthesis of endogenous fatty acids.

Influence of aromatic components from pig manure on odour and flavour of cooked chicken meat

An experiment with 96 broilers distributed across six treatments was carried out. Each treatment consisted of four cages each with four broilers. The six treatments were: the control (treatment 1), broilers placed in cages with a welded wire bottom hanging over smelling pig manure (treatment 2), or placed on a pig manure mat (treatment 3), combined with two intervals, i.e. 1 week (group a) and 2 weeks (group b) before slaughter. The content of skatole in the abdominal fat was measured, and the odour and flavour impressions after cooking were evaluated by a taste panel. The treatments were compared with two control treatments: broilers produced traditionally in cages either without (treatment 1a) or with (treatment 1b) contact with their own manure for a fortnight. A higher skatole level in abdominal fat of broilers in physical contact with pig manure (treatment 3) was measured, compared with broilers without physical contact with pig manure for at least 1 week (treatments 1 and 2) ( p<0.05). The consumer taste panel evaluation was not affected by the fact that the broilers had been lying on pig manure. However, the evaluation of the odour of the cooked meat, when opening the cooking bag, was to some extent negatively affected by the experimental treatments of broilers, which had physical contact with the pig manure ( p<0.05). Furthermore, physical contact with the manure, regardless of whether it was broiler or pig manure, proved to affect the odour of the meat ( p<0.01). For broilers placed in cages without physical contact with the pig manure (treatments 2a and 2), the smell had no negative influence on either the odour or on the flavour of the meat, and the content of skatole was not different from that of the broilers on the control treatment. A taste panel evaluation performed on four broilers of the treatments 1a, 2b, and 3b showed no flavour differences among treatments. Whether the broilers had been exposed to a given treatment for 1 or 2 weeks made no difference, either to the skatole concentration or to the odour or flavour impression of the newly cooked chicken meat.

Effects of Environment on Growth, Efficiency of Feed Utilization, Carcass Fatness, and Their Association

The effects of environmental factors (house type, temperature, and type of watering system) on gain (G), feed consumption (FC), feed conversion (FCR), accumulation of abdominal fat (AF), and the association between FCR and AF of broilers were studied in a series of seven experiments. In addition, the adjustment of broilers to new housing environments and the factors affecting this adjustment were evaluated. The 4- to 7-wk G and FC were greater in groups raised at 21.1 C than 26.7 C. There were no consistent effects of environmental temperature on FCR (significantly reduced in 21.1 C groups compared with the 26.7 C groups in two of four trials) or in AF (significantly greater in 21.1 C groups than in 26.7 C groups in one of four trials). Environmental temperatures had no consistent effect on the relationship between FCR and AF. Both waterer types and environmental temperature affected the adjustment of broilers to placement in individual cages. Adjustment was better (less mortality and shorter periods of reduced FC) in the 21.1 C environment and when cup instead of trough waterers were provided. The 4- to 6-wk G and FC were reduced in the caged birds compared with the floor pen birds, but the FCR and AF were not consistently different. The initial (4-wk) BW significantly affected the 6-wk BW, G, FC, and FCR, but was not correlated with AF.

Effect of Different Nutrient-Restriction Programs Early in Life on Broiler Performance and Abdominal Fat Content

Restricting nutrients during early life has been suggested as a means of reducing the deposition of abdominal fat in broilers. However, this procedure should be done without sacrificing overall performance. Three experiments were conducted in order to compare the effects produced by different means of early-life nutrient restriction on the performance of broilers and on abdominal-fat deposition. The treatments consisted of: providing feed for ad libitum consumption (control); fasting for 1, 2, or 3 days starting at 5 days of age; restricting feed intake to a maintenance level, calculated for 6 days of age and fed for 6 or 12 days; using a 1:1 dilution, by weight, of the standard diet with inert filler; and providing a 15% feather-meal diet. Weights by sex and feed consumption per pen were obtained at 5, 17, 35, and 49 days of age in Experiments 1 and 2 and at 21, 42, and 49 days of age in Experiment 3. The samples were processed in order to determine the content of abdominal fat.The different restriction programs had inconsistent effects concerning the parameters measured. Feed efficiency was generally improved by nutrient restriction; but programs that reduced abdominal fat also reduced body weight. A compensatory gain was not observed consistently in the experiments.

Fatty acid composition of broiler abdominal fat as influenced by temperature, diet, age and sex

Abstract 1. Two environmentally controlled houses at 21°‐30°‐21°C (HT) and 21°C (LT) were used to study the effect of temperature on fatty acid composition of the abdominal fat of male and female broilers fed 13.8 and 13 MJ ME/kg diets and slaughtered at 34 and 54 d. 2. Extracts from the abdominal fat of 160 carcases and of the experimental foods were analysed for fatty acids by gas liquid chromatography. 3. Birds reared in HT had a significantly lower proportion of polyun‐saturated fatty acids (PUFA) in their abdominal fat between 34 and 54 d than birds in LT. The depot fat contents of oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids were all reduced by HT at 54 d. 4. For broilers slaughtered at 54 d, saturated fatty acid (SFA) content was much higher in females at high temperatures than in males while at low temperatures PUFA, especially linoleic, was much lower in males than in females. 5. Early finishing of broilers is advantageous from the viewpoint of fatty acid composition because the PUFA/SFA ratio declines si...

Use of a Fat Probe to Assess Variation in Abdominal Fat in Broilers

Four trials were conducted to compare the fat probe measure of abdominal fat with that of actual abdominal fat weights and percentage abdominal fat. Various ages, diets, and genetic groups were used to provide experimental chickens with a wide range in body weights and abdominal fat percentages.Mean values obtained by two operators using the probe on the same bird were similar (correlations of .70 to .79). Considering all comparisons, the arithmetic mean of the correlations between fat probe values and percentage abdominal fat was .24; values ranged from .01 to .44. In five comparisons of groups differing significantly in percentage abdominal fat, there were no significant differences in probe values, and correlations between fat and probe values were low. In three other comparisons of groups differing significantly in percentage abdominal fat, differences between probe values were significant and correlations between fat and probe values were moderate.In the comparison groups in which there was an association between probe and fat values, the magnitude of the differences in fat values was about four times as great as that of differences in probe values and the correlations were moderate (.28 to .44). In the comparisons in which higher abdominal fat was associated with higher probe values, higher body weight was associated with higher percentage abdominal fat. In comparisons where higher probe values were not associated with higher abdominal fat, higher body weights were not associated with higher percentage fat.

Reduction in Abdominal Fat Content of Broiler Chickens by the Addition of Feather Meal to Finisher Diets

Two trials were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of feather meal (FM) as a protein source for reducing abdominal fat in broilers during the finishing period (35 to 49 days of age). Birds were grown to 35 days of age on diets that met the National Research Council (NRC, 1984) nutrient recommendations and then assigned to one of the test diets.In the first trial, FM was added to the diets at 0, 2, 4, or 6%, assuming 100, 50, or 0% amino acid availability (based on the NRC amino acid values for FM). Addition of FM resulted in an increase in dietary protein content. Sample birds were processed at 49 days of age to determine abdominal fat content and dressing percentage. Addition of FM resulted in a significant (P<.05) reduction in abdominal fat regardless of assumed amino acid availability. There were no significant differences in rate of gain, feed efficiency, and dressing percentage.In Trial 2, test diets were fed either from 35 to 49 days of age with 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8% FM or from 42 to 49 days of age with 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10% FM. All diets were formulated assuming 50% amino acid availability. A significant (P<.05) reduction in abdominal fat was again observed in birds fed FM except at the 2% FM level. No significant differences occurred in body weight, efficiency of food utilization, and dressing percentage. These data indicate that short-term feeding of FM may aid in reducing abdominal fat deposition in broilers. This reduction is probably due to the increased dietary protein content associated with FM addition, but the possibility that certain nonessential amino acids present in FM contribute to the reduction cannot be totally ruled out.

Effect of Early Nutrition on Abdominal Fat in Broilers

Experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of isocaloric diets varying in protein and fat content or diluted with a combination of cellulose and sand during the 1st wk of life on subsequent abdominal fat pad size in male broiler chicks. In the first experiment chicks were fed diets containing 2,850 kcal metabolizable energy (ME)/kg with 23% protein and low or high total fat (23/LF or 23/HF) or 28% protein with low fat (28/LF) for the 1st 7 days and diets with varying protein and fat levels during the next 19 days. Abdominal fat was significantly higher in chicks fed 28/LF for 7 days followed by 23/HF than for the other treatments. In a second experiment chicks in battery brooders were fed diets with 18, 23, or 28% protein with or without added fat. They were then intermingled and placed in floor pens where they were fed corn-soy starter grower and finisher diets to 7 wk. Body weight at 4 and 7 wk and abdominal fat at 4 wk were not significantly different among treatments, but abdominal fat at 7 wk was significantly higher for chicks fed the 28/LF or 28/HF diets. Effects of feeding the same 18/LF, 23/LF, and 28/LF diets or practical diets containing 3,150 kcal ME/kg with various protein levels during the first week were examined in another experiment. Chicks all received the same diets from 7 to 49 days. No significant differences in size of abdominal fat pad was observed within each diet series. A final experiment was conducted to determine the effect on abdominal fat content of diluting a 23% protein, 3,150 kcal ME/kg diet with levels of 0 to 10% cellulose:sand (1:2 ratio) during the 1st 7 days followed by feeding the same practical diets to intermingled chicks from 7 to 49 days of age. No difference in body weight was observed but abdominal fat of birds fed 2.5% cellulose:sand was significantly higher than birds fed 0 or 10% cellulose:sand. Results of these experiments show that abdominal fat content in market broilers may be influenced by the composition of the diet fed during the first week of life.

Effects of Monensin Feeding and Withdrawal Time on Growth and Carcass Composition in Broiler Chickens

Four experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of monensin feeding and withdrawal on broiler performance and carcass characteristics. It was shown that monensin (100 ppm) feeding depressed growth. Withdrawal of monensin from the feed for 5 or 7 days produced higher feed consumption and weight gain values compared with those of unmedicated broilers. Increasing the withdrawal period to 10 days did not produce greater growth improvement. Whole body composition of protein, water, lipid, and ash were not significantly affected by monensin feeding or withdrawal. Abdominal fat pads of unmedicated female broilers were significantly larger than those of broilers medicated with monensin even when expressed as a percentage of body weight (3.53 vs. 2.99%). Amount of lipid per fat pad was also higher in unmedicated broilers than in medicated broilers (43.5 vs. 30.6 g). Values for fat pad weight (as a percentage of body weight) and grams of lipid per fat pad of unmedicated birds were not different from those measures in medicated birds after 5 or 7 days of withdrawal. Fat pad weights and lipids per fat pad of birds after 10 days of monensin withdrawal were intermediate between those of unmedicated and monensin-medicated broilers. Monensin feeding or its withdrawal for 5 or 10 days did not influence the female broiler abdominal fat pad lipid fatty acid composition when compared with that of unmedicated fat pad lipid.

Contribution of lipoprotein lipase to differences in fatness between broiler and layer-strain chickens.

The growth of abdominal fat in chickens from broiler and layer-strains up to 10 weeks of age was measured and compared with changes in plasma very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) concentration and tissue lipoprotein lipase activities. The growth of abdominal fat in broilers was much more rapid than in layer-strain chickens. Plasma VLDL concentrations in the two strains were similar up to 5 weeks of age but thereafter concentrations tended to be higher in broilers. Plasma VLDL concentrations in both strains were much lower than those necessary for maximum lipoprotein lipase activity. The lipoprotein lipase activity of abdominal fat increased much more rapidly in broilers than in layer-strain chickens. In both strains the pattern of its increase relative to body weight was similar to that of abdominal fat. Differences in the lipoprotein lipase activity of abdominal fat between strains were attributed to differences in both activity/adipocyte and number of adipocytes. They were reduced or abolished if activity was expressed relative to tissue weight, or to its content of DNA or protein. The results strongly suggest that the greater lipoprotein lipase activity of the abdominal fat pad in broilers is an important factor in its rapid growth.

Age and Dietary Energy Effect on Broiler Abdominal Fat Deposition

Three trials were conducted to determine when abdominal fat is deposited in relation to age and dietary energy level for broilers. Results show that the amount of abdominal fat as a percentage of body weight increased as age (36 to 54 days) and dietary energy level (3100 to 3325 metabolizable energy kcal/kg) increased. During the 36 to 54-day period, the weight of the broilers increased 75% for males and 72% for females. During the 36 to 54-day period, abdominal fat expressed as a percentage of body weight increased 23% for males and 38% for females.