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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2017
A number of feed additives including antibiotics have been widely used in the poultry industry for several decades. The manipulation of gut function and microbial habitat of domestic animals with feed additives has been recognized as an important tool for improving growth performance and feed efficiency (Collington et al, 1990). Recently, the concerns about possible antibiotic residues and disease resistance have aroused great caution in the usage of antibiotic in the animal industry (Ricke et al, 2005). The ban on the use of antibiotic as feed additives has accelerated and led to investigations of alternative feed additives in animal production. The primary alternatives to enhance gut function and growth performance to date include acidification of feed, feeding probiotic organisms, and prebiotic compounds (Patterson and Burkholder, 2003). The main aim of the present research was to evaluate the efficiency of alternative antibiotic growth promoters on growth performance in Iranian Ross broiler performance.