doi:10.1016/j.jafr.2026.102969engCampo, María del MarMur, LeticiaLópez-Carbonell, DavidPredictive modelling of skin color in broilers based on sex and dietary xanthophyllsART-2026-149267A factorial design was used to predict skin color in broilers depending on the sex and the xanthophylls added to the diet using multiple regression models with interactions. A total of 2160 1-day- old ROSS 308 chicks were distributed across 36 pens, half containing males and half containing females. After a common starter diet, at 14 days of age each pen was assigned to one of three treatments based on the pigment added to a basal diet until 41 days of age: 68 ppm of natural yellow xanthophylls; 34 ppm of synthetic apo-ester or 68 ppm of stabilized natural yellow xanthophylls. Color was measured in the apterial latero-pectoral area and in the hock by means of a MINOLTA 600d spectrophotometer in the CIEL∗a∗b∗ color space after 0 and 13 days of pigment intake on the live animal, and after 26 days of pigment intake on the carcass. The reliability of lightness and redness predictions were poor for practical implications. Yellowness predictions were more accurate but a moderate predictive ability was found using cross validation. The models described significant different interactions between sex and days of pigment intake, or natural and synthetic pigments and days of pigment intake. The dose of 34 ppm of synthetic apo-ester was not sufficient to obtain skin color results comparable to those with 68 ppm of natural pigments. Predicting retail color at farm level could serve as a tool for producers to offer the desired color to consumers at the lowest possible cost.2026http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/17119310.1016/j.jafr.2026.102969http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/171193oai:zaguan.unizar.es:171193Journal of Agriculture and Food Research 28 (2026), 102969 [9 pp.]by-nchttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.esinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess