The in vivo estimation of body fat content in laying hens.

A comparison was made between the determined water space of 16 laying hens weighing between 1-1 and 3-5 kg and that predicted from tritiated water space, with the object of estimating body fat content. 2. The predicted water space over-estimated the determined water space by 15%, but body fat content in living hens with fat levels representing 8-6 and 39% of carcass weight could be predicted with a coefficient of variation of 14%.