Yellow Bird or White Bird? Yellow bird or white bird? Does it really matter? In a word, "YES!" It is generally acknowledged that breading does not adhere well to a yellow skinned chicken when it's cooked within the high temperature cooking environment of some foodservice operations. Therefore, white chickens are traditionally used in foodservice due to the inherent advantage of breading adhesion. What Is the Difference Between Yellow and White Chickens? The difference in skin color is determined primarily by the temperature of the scald water which prepares the chickens for the feather pickers. Color is deposited on the chicken's skin by diet. Any chicken that has had corn in their diet will have yellow pigment in their skin. Almost all chickens in the United States have corn as the major portion of their feed. That yellow color in the skin is a selling point for the Perdue retail chicken and is enhanced by the addition of Marigold petal meal (xanthraphyl) to the corn and soy we feed our Perdue chickens. The chickens then have a deeper yellow color. During processing, the chickens are dipped in a hot water bath to loosen the feathers. The temperature of this water is the determining factor as to whether the yellow pigment remains on the skin or is removed to produce a white skinned chicken for foodservice. The temperature difference between the two is about 7 degrees Fahrenheit. At the lower temperature, the yellow color remains on the skin and at 7 degrees higher, the color is removed (called a "hard scald").

  Lesson 4