KANTHIX™ R — poultry yolk & skin coloration.
Three published studies cover the breadth of canthaxanthin application in poultry: layer egg-yolk coloration (Hy-Line Brown, 90 days), brooder-off broiler skin/shank coloration (yellow-feather chicks, 15-day dose-response), and head-to-head comparison vs. leading commercial canthaxanthin references. Coloration is measured by Roche Yolk Color Fan (RYCF), the industry standard.
Roche Yolk Color Fan (RYCF) — reference scale
Pale yellow (1) to deep red-orange (15). Premium markets target 9+; integrators frequently specify 10–13.
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Pale-to-yellow (1–5): baseline corn–soy diet, no carotenoid supplementation.
Golden (6–9): typical natural xanthophyll (marigold) baseline.
Premium (10–13): KANTHIX™ R + xanthophyll integrated program target.
Hy-Line Brown layers · 90-day yolk coloration
Shandong Animal Husbandry & Veterinary · 2003
3,000 hens · single-factor design · 5 treatments × 3 reps × 200 birds
Design. 3,000 Hy-Line Brown laying hens randomly allotted to one control + four KANTHIX™ R treatment groups at 40, 80, 120, 160 mg/kg canthaxanthin for 90 days on a corn–soybean basal diet. 50 eggs/replicate sampled at each time point; yolk color scored on the Roche Yolk Color Fan (RYCF). ADFI, laying rate, F/E ratio, and mortality recorded.
| RYCF score · representative time points |
Control |
40 mg/kg |
80 mg/kg |
120 mg/kg |
160 mg/kg |
| Day 1 (baseline) |
6.3 |
7.0 |
7.0 |
6.8 |
6.7 |
| Day 3 |
6.1 |
8.0 |
7.3 |
9.3 |
9.4 |
| Day 4 |
6.5 |
9.2 |
9.2 |
9.9 |
9.9+ |
| Laying rate/F:E/mortality |
No significant differences across treatments — pigmentation gain delivered without production penalty. |
Outcome: yolk color deepened markedly by Day 3 and stabilized after Day 7. Higher inclusions (120–160 mg/kg) reached RYCF ≈ 9.4–9.9 within 3–4 days. Source: Shandong Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Issue 4, 2006 — authorized English translation on file.
Brooder-off yellow-feather chicks · shank-color dose response
Feed Research / Livestock & Poultry · 2006
1,500 day-old chicks · 16 days · 5 treatments × 3 reps × 100 birds
Design. Yellow-feather broiler chicks raised without supplemental heat, fed KANTHIX™ R-supplemented corn–soybean mash at 300 / 350 / 400 / 450 / 500 g/MT (= 32.1 / 37.45 / 42.8 / 48.15 / 53.5 mg/kg canthaxanthin) for 16 days. RYCF shank color recorded from Day 6 every 2 days; BW, FI, FCR, and mortality monitored. Companion trial: head-to-head vs. Lucantin® Red and Carophyll® Red at matched dietary canthaxanthin.
| Shank coloration (RYCF) |
Day 6 |
Day 16 |
Verdict |
| KANTHIX™ R · 32.1 mg/kg |
10.1 |
13.67 |
Premium-band entry |
| KANTHIX™ R · 37.5 mg/kg |
10.4 |
13.85 |
Premium-band |
| KANTHIX™ R · 42.8 mg/kg |
11.2 |
14.02 |
Diminishing return begins |
| KANTHIX™ R · 48.2 mg/kg |
12.94 |
14.10 |
No further uplift at D16 |
| KANTHIX™ R · 53.5 mg/kg |
12.75 |
14.17 |
Plateau · over-dosed |
Outcome: diminishing return above ~38 mg/kg by Day 16 — all five doses converged to RYCF 13.67–14.17 with no significant between-group differences (p > 0.05). Practical implication: dose to the target colorimetric outcome, not above it — the molecule plateaus before the budget does. Growth performance (BW, FCR, mortality) unaffected across all five doses.
Storage-stability carryover · fresh vs. 45-day stored pellets
KYNAD trial · 2005
675 chicks × 2 phases · pelleted at 80 °C · same formulation
Design. Same diets pelleted at 80 °C, then either fed fresh (Phase 1) or stored sealed for 45 days before feeding (Phase 2). Canthaxanthin assayed before and after storage; shank RYCF measured at end of each 15-day phase. Treatments included KANTHIX™ R at 10 / 14 / 30 mg/kg and reference products at matched inclusions.
| Group |
Stored-before retention |
Stored-after retention |
45-day retention |
| KANTHIX™ R · 10 mg/kg | 96.09% | 96.01% | Equivalent |
| KANTHIX™ R · 14 mg/kg | 95.10% | 95.02% | Equivalent |
| KANTHIX™ R · 30 mg/kg | 95.72% | 95.67% | Equivalent |
| Lucantin® Red · 14 mg/kg | 94.42% | 94.28% | Equivalent |
| Carophyll® Red · 30 mg/kg | 95.28% | 95.01% | Equivalent |
Outcome: encapsulated canthaxanthin held ~95% retention through 45 days of sealed pellet storage, and shank RYCF at the end of each 15-day feeding phase showed no significant difference between fresh-feed and stored-feed cohorts at the same dietary inclusion. Logistically: feed mills can produce ahead of placement without losing pigmentation potency. Source: KYNAD storage-stability trial, 2005-09 to 2005-11.