The complex nature of poultry flavor prevents ony single, complete chorocterixotion of its source. The contribution of the sulfur compounds to the flavor of the meot hos received attention and recently the corbanyl-related off-flavor development in further processed products has become o problem. In order to determine the corbanyl compounds woilable in row poultry skin, the hexone soluble extract of ground skin was reacted with DNPhydrozine. The derivatives formed were froctianoted by cdumn ond thin layer chromotogrophy and quontified spectrophotometricolly.Mole ond female chickens and turkeys were raised on stondord diets to selected ages to study the influence of oge, sex ond group of birds on the level ond compasition of corbanyl compounds. The porticulor carbanyls investigated were the totol corbanyls, the total monacarbanyl fraction ond the specific oliphotic monacarbonyl classes. Data showed higher levels of total corbanyl ond total monacorbanyl compounds in mole turkeys than in females until bath were quite mature. Within the chicken samples, there wos no opprecioble difference due to either sex or oge. The only methyl ketone found in any of the samples wos acetone. The mole turkeys hod an increase in acetone concentration from 20 wk to o max at 24 wk, the some time ot which lipid composition wos the lowest. During the some time the female turkey maintained a relatively constant methyl ketone level. At 30 wk both sexes exhibited the lower concentration of acetone. Chicken skin dota consistently displayed low acetone concentrations similar to that of the femole turkeys.