نشریه پژوهش های علوم دامی
سال بیست و هشتم شماره 4 (زمستان 1397)

Red meat is one of the best dietary sources of fat and protein for humans. The fatty acid composition of meat has long been studied, but still receives a lot of attention in research because of its implications for human health. Besides a lower total fat intake, human nutritionists are recommending a higher intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and especially of n-3 fatty acids at the expense of n-6 fatty acids. Numerous animal feeding trials have been carried out using different species and breeds aiming at bringing the polyunsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid (P/S) ratio of meat closer to the recommended value (>0.7), as well as for the n-6/n-3 ratio (<5). Sugar beet pulp (SBP) contains 70% carbohydrates mainly as neutral detergent soluble fiber, which has high water-binding capacity and a slow fermentation rate in rumen compared to the barley grain. Replacing barley with SBP may overcome digestive disorders such as acidosis problem and lead to the utilization of dietary energy towards animal growth, carcass gain, and muscle intramuscular fat deposition. On the other hand, feeds containing fats and oils are being used in animal diets to increase energy density and to manipulate intramuscular fat content and fatty acid composition of the meat. Canola seed contains approximately 40 to 43 % oil in which oleic acid, linoleic acid, and α-linolenic acid contribute to 61, 20 and 10%, respectively. High fat content of canola seed makes it an attractive feedstuff to improve energy density of diets for finishing lambs grown in dry regions, where pasture availability is low. To our knowledge, information containing the effects of SBP as a slow fermentable carbohydrate source with an inclusion of roasted canola seed on growth performance and meat quality characteristics of fattening lambs is not investigated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects SBP with or without RCS in a high concentrate diet on performance and muscle composition of Arabian fattening lambs. This experiment was approved by the Animal Care and Ethics Committee of Ramin University of Livestock Research. In this study, twenty-four Arabian male lambs, 4 months old, (23.7±2.5 kg; mean initial BW±SD) were kept in individualcages (1.4×1.2 m). The fattening period was 99 d including 14 d as adaptation period. At the start of the adaptation period, all the animals were treated for external and internal parasites and vaccinated against enterotoxaemia. The animals were randomly assigned to one of the four dietary treatments included 1) starch, 2) starch with roasted canol seeds, 3) Neutral detergent soluble fiber and 4) Neutral detergent soluble fiber with roasted canola seed. The diets were offered to animals to meet the requirements of growth rate at 250 g/day according to National Research Council (NRC, 2007). Lambs were weighed weekly throughout the experimental period prior to the morning feeding. Feed conversion ratio was calculated as the ratio between average daily intake and average daily gain. Average daily gain was calculated for each sheep from regression analysis of live weight vs. time from day 1 to 99 of each treatment. At the end of the trial, all the animals were slaughtered according to Halal method. Samples from Longissimus dorsi (LD) between 5th and 6th ribs trimmed of all external subcutaneous fat were collected. These were used to determine moisture, crude protein, fat, and ash contents of meat according to Association of Official Analytical Chemistry (AOAC, 2006). Lightness (L*), rednes (a*), and yellowness (b*) of meat samples were measured using a Minolta CR-300 colorimeter in the CIE L*a*b*. Hue angle (H*) was calculated as tan−1 (b*/a*) × (180/π) and Chroma (C*) as (a*2+b*2)1/2. The colorimeter was set for using the illuminant A and 10° standard observers. About 50 g of the LD muscle between 6th to 9th ribs were taken for determination of fatty acid profiles. Muscle lipids were extracted as described by Folch et al. (1957), using dichloromethane and methanol (2:1 vol/vol), instead of chloroform and methanol (2:1 vol/vol), and were methylated according to Metcalfe and Schmitz (1961). The transmethylated samples were analyzed by a gas chromatograph with a flame ionization detector and a capillary column measuring 100 m in length × 0.25 mm i.e., with a thickness of 0.20 mm. Helium was used as the carrier gas at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Also, tridecanoic acid (C13:0) was used as internal standard. The initial temperature of the oven was 70 °C and was increased by 10 °C/min to 175 °C, where it was maintained for 25 min. The temperature was then increased by 7 °C/min to 220 °C, where it was maintained for 10 min, followed by another increase by 10 °C/min to 230 °C, where it remained for 4 min. The temperature of the injector was 280 °C, and the temperature of the detector was 300 °C. Identification of the fatty acids was carried out by comparison of the retention times with standards of fatty acids from butter, and the percentage of fatty acids was obtained by means of Chromquest 5.5 software. Performance data were analyzed completely random design with repeated measurement PROC MIXED and compound symmetry model. Meat Characteristics data were as a completely randomized design with a 2×2 factorial arrangement using PROC GLM in SAS software. Partial replacement of starch with soluble fiber significantly increased performance concentration of capric, c17:0 anteiso and behenic acid and significantly reduced lauric, heptadecanoic, oleic, linoleic and polyunsaturated fatty acids of longissimus dorsi (P<0.05). Addition of roasted canola seed to diets increased performance (average 288 g vs. 262 g) and reduced the concentration of isopalmitic and behenic acid and significantly increased concentration of Lauric, Myristic, Anteiso-pentadecanoic, Pentadecenoic, Palmitic, Palmitoleic, Stearic, Vaccenic, Conjugated linoleic, Oleic, α-Linolenic, γ-Linolenic, Gondoic, Docosatetraenoic, h-γ-Linolenic, Arachidonic, Eicosapentaenoic, Nervonic, Docosapentaenoic, Docosahexaenoic acids and the total concentration of unsaturated fatty acids with one or polyunsaturated fatty acid pattern longissimus dorsi (p<0.05). Canola seed addition significantly increased n-6/n-3 and p/s ratio (P<0.05). Replacement of starch with soluble fiber significantly decreased and fat addition significantly increased meat cholesterol concentratin (P<0.05). The results showed that the use of canola seeds by changing the indicators of unsaturated fatty acids, omega-6 to omega-3 ratios reform and polyunsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids
can improve the quality and quantity of meat.

Today, synthetic chemical compounds used to achieve these purpose, and one of these compounds are important antibiotics (Hong et al 2012). The use of antibiotics as feed additive in animal and poultry feeds is restricted or prohibited in some area of the world (Aroiee et al 2005). As a result, new commercial additives were examined as a nutritional strategy to improve growth and feed conversion ratios (Thomke and Elwinger 1998). Medicinal plants have effective ingredients. Adding them to the diet improves the performance of broiler chicks and the amount of these effective ingredients varies in different species. Nettle and asparagus can be a stimulant for growth and replaces antibiotics in broiler chicks and also stimulates and strengthens the immune system in broiler chickens (Safamehr et al 2012). This herbal plant has many properties, including: appetite, blood pressure regulator and enhancer of red blood cells (Hanif et al 2011, Motavalizadeh 2012). During a study it has been shown that asparagus can improves humoral and cellular immune responses and has antimicrobial effects (Tekade et al 2008). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the effects of nettle and asparagus essential oils, antibiotic and probiotics on performance, microflora and gastrointestinal histomorphology in broiler chicks. Seven hundred unsexed 1-d-old chicks (Arian strain) were weighed and divided into 7 groups (pen) of 25 chickens in each replicate (4 replicates) in a completely randomized design (CRD). The experimental diets including: 1) basal diet (control), 2) basal diet containing 150 mg/kg protexin, 3) basal diet containing 150 mg/kg avilamycin, 4) basal diet containing 200 mg/kg asparagus essential oil, 5) basal diet containing 400 mg/kg asparagus essential oil, 6) basal diet containing 200 mg/kg nettle essential oil and 7) basal diet containing 400 mg/kg nettle essential oil. Body weight gain and feed intake were measured and the feed conversion ratio was also calculated. Birds were slaughtered to prepare specimens for the small intestinal histomorphology at the end of the period. In terms of anatomy, duodenum is from gizzard to the entrance of the bile duct, jejunum is from bile duct to the entrance of the meckel's diverticulum, and ileum is from meckel's diverticulum to the ileocecal junction(Wang et al 2015, Uni et al 2000, Xu et al 2003 and Laudadio et al 2012). For measuring the length of the villi and the depth of the crypt, samples at a length of 1 cm from the middle parts of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum sections were cut and fixed in10% formalin fixation solution (Wang et al 2015 and Laudadio et al 2012). At 42 days of age, eight birds were randomly selected from each treatment and were slaughtered to investigate intestinal microflora. The digestive system of birds from the ileum was removed and the two ends are tied and immediately frozen. From each replication, equal amounts (0.1%) of ileum contents were dissolved in the physiologic serum (sodium chloride 0.9%), and after serial dilution and for microbial counting on specific culture, they were incubated at a temperature of 37 °C for 48 hours (Jamroz et al 2003). The collected data were compared using SAS software version 9.1 (SAS 2005). Body weight gain was not affected by the treatments during 1-42 days, but the feed intake and feed conversion ratio were significantly affected by experimental treatments (P<0.05). The feed conversion ratio in the whole period was improved in treatments containing nettle essential oil and asparagus essential oil at 200 and 400 mg as compared with other treatments. Safamehr et al. (2012) with using 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2% of nettle found a significant effect on body weight gain. The total number of bacteria was significantly affected by the treatments (P<0.05), so the total number of bacteria in the treatment containing the nettle and asparagus essential oil was significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05). Also, the number of Lactobacillus was significantly influenced by experimental treatments (P<0.05). The number of E.coli was significantly affected by experimental treatments (P<0.05). Jamroz et al. (2003) reported that medicinal plant extracts (carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde) reduced number of intestinal E.coli bacteria of broilers compared with the control group. Herbal essential oils have a strong antimicrobial activity against E.coli, Salmonella and Clostridium perfringens bacteria, while increasing effect on the population of Lactobacillusand Bifidobacter bacteria (Mitsch et al 2004). Effects of experimental treatments on the villus height, crypt depth, and ratio of villus height to crypt depth in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum was significant (P<0.05). Garcia et al. (2007) reported that the use of herbal extracts and antibiotics did not have a significant effect on the villus height, but the highest villus height and crypt depth was observed in the treatment containing the plant extract. Growth stimulants such as probiotics and herbal extracts reduced the amount of pathogenic bacteria, then contributes to maintaining the health and growth of the intestinal tissue, by mechanisms such as enhancing the beneficial intestinal microflora, increasing the production of fatty acids, and reducing the intestinal pH. Antongiovanni et al. (2007) reported that as the highest growth and development of the intestine occurs in the first and second weeks of the bird's life, in order to obtain a better result, the study of tissue changes in the intestine could be better at seven and fourteen days of the bird's life. Based on improvement in performance, intestinal microflora and histomorphology of small intestine, the asparagus and nettle essential oils can be used as a suitable alternative to antibiotics growth promoters in Arian broiler diets.

(Kafi et al. 2010). The weather characteristics of these areas are hot and dry with scarcity of water resources. This crop can produce acceptable forage with much lower water requirement in comparison with the traditional forage crop such as alfalfa. In these areas this forage crop can be fed to ruminant animals instead of alfalfa hay. Therefore, this study was aimed to measure the feeding value of Kochia forage in both forms of dry or ensiled and utilize it instead of alfalfa hay in feeding of Saanen dairy goats. The Kochia forage was harvested from a farm in Mashkan area of Sabzevar city, lokated in west of Khorasan Razavi province of Iran. The harvested Kochia forage was dried under sun light or ensiled with or without 10% waste date in the ground silos for 60 days. In this experiment, 24 lactating dairy goats with average age and live weight of 3 years and 38.4 kg were allocated to 4 experimental diets baed on a completely randomized design. Each dietary treatment was replicated 6 time (6 goats alocated to each diet). Ratio of forage to concentrate part was 50:50 in dry basis. The experimental dietary treatments were as follows: 1) the control or traditional diet including concentrate (50%) plus alfalfa hay (50%) without Kochia, 2) diet with kochia hay instead of alfalfa hay (100% of the alfalfa hay was substituted with the Kochia hay) 3) diet with kochia silage instead of alfalfa hay (100% of the alfalfa hay was substituted with the Kochia silage) and 4) diet with kochia silage supplemented with 10% wasted date (100% of the alfalfa hay was substituted with Kochia silage). The goats were adapted to the experimental diets for 14 days and then, fed with the whole experimental diets for 6 weeks. Goats were milked daily at 6 and 18 hours with a portable milking machine. Diets, ruminal fluid, the produced milk, and blood of the experimental goats were sampled and analyzed according to the standard procedures (AOAC 2000). The experimental diets had no effects on dry matter intake which allocated to goats. The goat fed by the diet including kochia silage supplemented with 10% wasted date produced more milk (P<0.05) in comparison with the goats allocated to other experimental diets, but there were no difference in milk constituents. Dry matter, organic matter, crude protein and neutral detergent fiber digestibilities were not significantly (P>0.05) different among the experimental diets. Total amounts of VFAs measured for the diets 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 71.87, 73.62, 72.75 and 74.95 milimol per liter, respectively. The concentration of propionic acid was highest in kochia silage supplemented with 10% wasted date. Mean value (percentage) of this acid (propionic) for the experimental diets were 20.23, 20.48, 21.05, and 21.65, respectively. Ratio of acetic acid to propionic acid for the repective diets were 3.07, 3.01, 2.91, and 2.83 respectively. The expermential diets had no effects on other ruminal fermentation as well as blood biochemical parameters. Ruminal pH of the goats allocated to experimental diets 1, 2, 3 and 4 were; 6.15, 6.13, 6.12, and 5.99, respectively. There were also no significant (P>0.05) difference between these factors as well. Ruminal NH3-N obtained from the allocated goats to diets 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 16.17, 16.19, 16.85,
and 17.01 (mg/dl), respectively. The measured amounts of boold golucose were within the normal levels for this type of animal (57.60, 60.83, 62.75, and 62.90 mg/dl for diets, 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively). Water shortage and low rainfall are the top characteristics of Iranian agriculture industry. This environmental scenario must be regarded in any developmental project mainly for forage production as animal feeds. Feeding value and performance of the Kochia forage mainly in the form of supplemented silage with waste dates were comparable to the the locally produced alfalfa hay in this study. Therefore, this resistant forage crop to water sacrcity can be well cultivated instead of alfala forge which needs abadant amount of fresh water. Conservation of this crop in form of supplented forage with a golucogenic feed waste such as wast dates leads to a better result and performance. However, more studies are required for the implenentation of this recommendation. Unfortunatly the most of Iranian farmers are not well acostomized to croping this forage crop. It means more extentional works are needed along with the research activities.

Cryopreservation of the sperm causes irreversible damage to the sperm cell. The main reason of abnormal spermatozoa during storage at low temperatures are the occurrence of lipid peroxidation (LPO), production of reactive oxygen species and antioxidants imbalances (Tuncer et al. 2010). Also, factors such as the formation of ice crystals, production of reactive oxygen species, temperature changes, lipid peroxidation, changes in membrane composition, chemical toxicity due to cryoprotectants and osmotic stress, reduce the quality of sperm after thawing (Barbas and Mascarenhas 2009). The addition of antioxidants to the diluent of bird sperm during the freezing process reduces damage to sperm and maintains motility and viability rate of sperms after its thawing, which might affect the development of artificial insemination in birds. Cysteine is a sulfur-containing amino acid with antioxidant properties that can easily penetrate the cell membrane and increases the biosynthesis of intracellular glutathione and eliminates the free oxygen radicals (Kaeoket et al. 2010, Sariozkan et al. 2009). In recent years, researchers found that the use of cysteine as an antioxidant in the freezing of various mammalian sperm (Bucak et al. 2009; Tuncer et al. 2010) improve the mobility and the viability of frozen-thawed sperm. In this study, after two weeks of adaptation period, semen was collected from eight mature roosters (Ross 308). Initial semen assessments such as volume, progressive motility, concentration, viability, and percentage of abnormal sperm were conducted in the laboratory. Next, the samples with standard quality were split into four equal aliquots and diluted (1:30; v/v) with basic extender supplemented by different concentrations of cysteine (2.5, 5 and 7.5 Mm) at 37 ˚C. In this experiment, freezing procedure was conducted in two steps. So that the 3ml of extender containing different concentrations of cysteine and semen samples, were cooled slowly at 5◦C for 2 h to reach thermal equilibrium. Then, 1 ml of the semen extender (precooled to 5◦C) was added to the semen (extender plus semen) to provide a final concentration of 100 × 106 sperm/ml and 8% glycerol at a temperature of 5℃. Immediately after 1 h the sample was loaded into 0.25 mL straws (IMV, L’Aigle, France). Then, the straws were frozen in liquid nitrogen vapor, 4 cm above the liquid nitrogen, for 7 min, and plunged into liquid nitrogen for storage. After storing, the samples were evaluated twice with an interval of 15 days and frozen straws were thawed individually at 37℃ for 30 min in a water bath and then evaluated individually. The quality of sperms in the present work was evaluated after keeping them for 15 and 30 days in liquid nitrogen. The results of this study showed that the sample diluted with 2.5 mM of cysteine indicate the highest viability performance in keeping for 15 days in the liquid nitrogen compared to the control group and samples with other dosages of this amino acid (P<0/05). The viability of the sperms diluted for 30 days is considerably lower than that of those diluted during 15 days. The integrity of the membrane of sperms diluted with 5 mM of cysteine stored in liquid nitrogen for 15 days indicate the best performance compared to the samples with other dosages of amino acid and the control group (Table 3). Based on the Table 3, the minimum abnormality of sperms was seen in the group treated with 7.5 mM of cysteine for 15 days (18.3%) while the maximum sperm abnormality was for the sperm in control group of day 30 (30.6%). Moreover, results of table 4 indicated that the samples with 2.5 mM of cysteine had the best performance in terms of total and progressive motilities among other treatments and control group
(P<0/05). It has been reported that sperm storage in the presence of cysteine improves sperm motility after freezing. In this experiment, cysteine increased the viability and motility of sperm compared to the control group, which were consistent with the results of previous studies on boar (Kaeoket et al. 2010), ram (Coyan et al. 2011), dog (Michael et al. 2010) Cow (Topraggaleh et al. 2014) and Goat (Memon et al. 2012). Moreover, the results of this study was agree with Partyka and et al. 2013 that proposed the cysteine (5 mM) improves the integrity of the rooster sperm membrane. Bucak et al. (2009) reported that the addition of cysteine (5 mM) and terhalose (50 mM) increased the amount of live and motile ram sperm after freezing-thawing process. According to the results of Ahmadian et al. (2014), the low level of cysteine in the thrice-based diluent provides the best response in the process of freezing-thawing of ram sperm, which is consistent with the results of our research.

Average daily gain (ADG) is the most economically important trait in sheep industry.
In genome wide association study and genomic selection, determining of extent and level of linkage
disequilibrium (LD) and haplotype block structure are critical in sample size and marker density. Haplotype blocks are defined as long stretches of SNPs along a chromosome that have low recombination rates, which characterized by relatively few haplotypes. Understanding haplotype structure in genome can greatly facilitate LD analysis. Haplotype-based association analysis can offer a powerful approach for mapping functional genes (Gabriel et al., 2002). Therefore, the objective of this research were to study LD pattern, determine haplotype block structure and genome wide haplotype association study in Zandi sheep for identifying the genomic region associated with pre-weaning (AGW) and post-weaning daily gain (PWG). A total of 96 Iranian Zandi sheep were used in the study. The following two traits were analyzed: pre-weaning daily gain and post-weaning daily gain. Animals were genotyped using 50 K SNPChip panel. Quality control of the genotype data consisted in removing SNPs with a call rate less than 95 %, SNPs with a minor allele frequency (MAF) less than 5 %, individual with more than 10 % missing genotypes, and SNPs that deviated strongly from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (P < 10−6). LD between all pairs were calculated with r2 by PLINK v1.07. Haplotype blocks were identified on base algorithm Gabriel et al. (2002) for all autosomes, using Haploview software (Barrett et al. 2005), based on estimates of D' for all pairwise combinations of SNPs within each chromosome. Following Gabriel et al. (2002), a pair of SNPs is defined to be in “strong LD” if the upper 95% confidence bound of D' is > 0.98 (consistent with no historical recombination) and the lower bound is > 0.7. Using the Haploview default values for blocks (Gabriel et al. 2002), a haplotype block is defined as a region over which 95 % of informative SNP pairs show “strong LD”. The PLINK was used to generate the matrix using the GLM algorithm. In this analysis, because of the previous selection history of the flock, it was important to identify and correct for population stratification. To evaluate whether estimates were overinflated, we used the genomic inflation factor λ using the PLINK software (Purcell et al., 2007). We also assessed their deviation from the expected distribution of no SNPs being associated with the trait of interest using a quantile-quantile (Q-Q) plot, which is commonly used to analyze population stratification in GWAS. We use SNPEVG tool to show the (Q-Q) plot. The Bonferroni method was used to adjust for multiple testing from the number of SNP loci detected. We declared a significant SNP at the genome-wide significance level if the raw P-value was, 0.05/N, here N is the number of SNP loci tested in the analyses. Therefore, for each trait, the threshold P-value for declaring genome-wide significance was (0.05)/40,879=1.2×10-6. The exact positions of the annotated genes were extracted from the latest sheep genome Oar_v4.0 assembly along with the NCBI annotation release 102 of the sheep genome. To investigate whether the
significant SNPs detected in this study were within the range of previously identified QTL for relevant traits, we searched for meat or production QTL in the Animal QTLdb within a 1-Mb region on both sides of each significant haplotype. After quality control, 2 individuals were excluded, leaving 94 sheep for the association analysis. Additionally, we removed 1070 SNPs with call rates less than 95% and 7717 SNPs with MAF less than 0.05. A total of 40,879 SNPs passed these quality-control filters and were retained in the dataset. These SNPs were distributed across 26 autosomes, with the number of SNPs per chromosome ranging from 747 to 5694, and with a mean distance between adjacent SNPs ranging from 50.4 to 68.7 kb. Also, in this study, the extent of LD was 40 kb with r2=0.2. Overally, 1472 blocks were observed in the 7.58% of all SNPs were classified into haplotype blocks, covering 1.45% of the total autosomal genome size. The results showed a reduction in LD level with the increase in distance between markers. The average pre-weaning daily gain was 0.197±0.04 kg with an individual sheep range of 0.08-0.34 kg. Average post-weaning daily gain was 0.126±0.07 kg with an individual sheep range of 0.03-0.41 kg. The result from genomic control showed weak population stratification for AGW and PGW in between population of Zandi sheep. The genomic inflation factors (λgc) for the two traits were equal to 1.039 and 1.073, for AGW and PGW, respectively. However, as the Q-Q plots clearly show, there is no evidence of any systematic bias (λgc˂1.1) due to population structure or analytical approach in our case. Considering the significant fixed effects in the genomic wide association analysis, four haplotypes on chromosomes 3, 5, 6 and 7 identified to affect significantly AGW and PWG traits. The results of this study could provide a suite of novel SNP markers and candidate genes associated with growth traits and hence, may play an important role for understanding the biology of average daily gain in sheep.

Physical attributes of feeds and Feed bunk space can affect feeding behavior of replacement heifers. The distribution of particle size can affect feed intake, feeding behavior, and feed sorting. Research on adult dairy cattle has focused on preventing rumen acidosis by varying particle size, but less work has focused on rations for replacement heifers. On the other side, the trend in the dairy industry has been toward fewer but larger herds and a concurrent change toward group feeding and handling in the larger herds. Where herds are expanded within existing facilities, competition at the feed bunk could increase. Ad libitum feeding of complete feeds reduces this competition between lactating cattle. However, ad libitum feeding of replacement yearling heifers could result in wasted feed, overeating, and fatty infiltration of the mammary gland with a reduction in future production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the interaction effect of feed bunk space and forage particle size on growth and performance of Holstein female calves. This experiment was performed on 40 Holstein female calves with an average age of 8-12 months and an average weight of 295.6 ± 32.8 kg in a factorial design with four treatments, four periods and four stall, in which 10 calves were allocated to each stall. The length of each experimental period was 25 days and the calves were group fed in this experiment. The diets were isoenergetic and isonitrogenous. The only difference between diets was related to the forage particle size (alfalfa and straw). Treatments included: 1) treatment with 24 cm of feed bunk space and average forage particle size of 3 cm (24/fine); 2) treatment with 24 cm of feed bunk space and average forage particle size of 6 cm (24/coarse); 3) treatment with 48 cm of feed bunk space and average forage particle size of 3 cm (48/fine); 4) treatment with 48 cm of feed bunk space and average forage particle size of 6 cm (48/coarse). Sampling from feed and feeder was carried out at 15, 17, 19, and 21 days in each period. The dry matter intake of each stall was also carried out on days 15, 17, 19 and 21 in order to determine the intensity of feed consumption at 2, 4, 6, 8 hour after morning feed delivery, as the feed in the feed bunk was weighed and then returned to the feed bunk and the amount of feed consumed by every stall and for each calf was also calculated. To determine dry matter, collected samples was dried by placing them in an oven at 65-70 ° C for 48 hours (AOAC, 1990). Then the feed intake and intake intensity at different hours were corrected based on dry matter. Results of the current study confirmed the synchronize of feed consumption behavior in growing calves, which during the first 2 hours after feed delivery, calves consumed about 50-45% of the daily intake of dry matter. Also, about 90-80% of the dry matter was consumed within the first 8 hours after the feed delivery, and in the next 16 hours only 10-20% of the feed intake occurred. The results for the main effects showed that feed bunk space has no effect on daily gain, dry matter, and feed intake, while the forage particle size affected both of dry matter intake and feed conversion ratio (P <0.05), so that the feed conversion ratio was significantly higher for the treatments with fine forage particle size in comparison with treatments with coarse forage particle size (9.75 vs. 8.52). Also, daily dry matter intake for treatments with fine forage particle size was higher compared with the treatments with coarse forage particle size (7.93 vs. 7.65 kg/day/calf). Also, the amount of daily dry matter was higher for treatments with fine forage particles compared to treatments with coarse forage particles, but this higher consumption was not necessarily equal to higher daily gain. Also, there were not any significant differences between treatments containing fine forage particles and treatments with coarse forage particles for average daily gain. Finally,particle size in the growing Holstein female calves can be used as a means of controlling the dry matter and to economize the feed cost in this group of livestock. Considering the importance of controlling the dry matter intake of replacement calves, it can be stated that regarding the high proportions of forage to concentrate in growing female calves, forage particle size can be used as a management solution for controlling the dry matter intake and growth of this group of livestock. Therefore, supply of diets containing coarse forage particle size can help to economize the cost of replacing calves.

Today, responding to the growing demand to food for increasing the world’s population and providing adequate food is one of the main causes of energy requirements in agriculture operations. Effective use of energy is an important condition for sustainable agricultural production which saves the cost, preserving fossil fuels and reduces air pollution. The animal husbandry sector plays an important role in providing the food security to the community by producing livestock products. Dairy farms play a significant role as the consumers and producers of energy. The livestock production is the poor converter of energy, because it is based on a double energy transformation. First, solar energy and soil nutrients are converted into biomass by green plants. Second, when crops are fed to livestock, a major share of energy intake is spent on keeping up body metabolism and only a small portion is used to produce meat and milk. Increased energy efficiency and utilization of non-renewable energy are effective to improve the air quality and also to reduce the greenhouse emissions. The aim of this study was to compare the input and consumed energy in dairy farms with different housing Systems. To carry out this research, the required information was collected from 42 dairy farms in the west of Tehran province. The studied dairy farms had an average milk yield of 31.94± 3.2 kg per day for milking cows and 195.42± 10.18 days in milk. The information included the unit consumption inputs over a one-year period aimed at comparing energy consumption and energy production between dairy farms with different housing Systems. The consumed energy included the non-renewable energy such as fuel and electricity and renewable energy such as forage, concentrate, machines, human labor, and water. Output energy included milk, meat, and manure. In order to compare energy efficiency between dairy farms, energy indices (energy ratio, net energy, energy productivity and specific energy) were used. The data were analyzed by SAS software. In this study, the average non-renewable consumed energy in dairy farms with freestall and open shed facilities per kg fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM) was 3.34 and 5.01 MJ, respectively (P=0.08). The highest share of the consumed energy in all dairy farms was related to feed energy, which had a share of 86.69% and 81.91% in the freestall and open shed, respectively. Also, the water input with consumption of 0.009 m3 per kg FPCM in freestall showed significant difference with open shed with consumption of 0.011 m3 per kg FPCM (P=0.04). Electricity consumption per kg FPCM in freestall and open shed was calculated to be 0.92 and 0.13 kWh, respectively (P=0.11). The rate of indirect energy was greater than that of direct energy consumption in both types of farms. The calculated output energy was 3.33 and 3.34 MJ per kg FPCM in freestall and open shed, respectively. The energy ratio for freestall and open shed were calculated to be 0.15 and 0.14, respectively. In addition, the energy productivity for freestall and open shed were 0.046 and 0.041, respectively. Energy indices can be improved by increasing the inputs efficiency, by reducing losses of inputs per cow or by optimizing inputs. In freestall farms, losses of inputs are lower than open shed farms. These results indicate better management of inputs in freestall farms. In freestall farms, because of the high density per unit area, consumption of inputs per head and per kilogram of FPCM was lower, indicating less waste of input and energy consumption. Considering the non-renewable consumed energy per kg FPCM, dairy farms with different housing systems (freestall vs open shed) tended to have difference. Among energy inputs, the energy of concentrate and forage (feed) consumption had the largest share of dairy farms. Also, considering the energy content of consumed feed as the main source of energy intake, special attention should be paid to prevention of energy waste throughout the suitable feed management as well as correct animal grouping. The use of proper feeding management, animal grouping, using several indicators (production, days in milk, body condition score, etc.) and breeding programs (according to production efficiency and yield traits) can improve feed consumption as the main source of energy consumption in dairy farms. Furthermore, the consumption of inputs per kg FPCM in freestall units was lower than open shed units.

Japanese quail is considered as a beneficial bird because of its characteristics such as rapid growth, early maturity, high egg production, breeding times and short incubation period (Lotfipour and Shakeri, 2011). Additives such as probiotics and prebiotics are used as alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters today (Zare Shahneh et al. 2007). Primalac is a kind of commercial probiotics that contains Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, and Enterococcus faecium (Salehimanesh et al. 2016). Its characteristics include increasing the population of the gastrointestinal tract microbes, increasing livestock production, reducing drug use, reducing mortality and reducing diarrhea in the flock (Midilli et al. 2008). Fermacto (kind of commercial prebiotics) is the product of elemental fermentation of Aspergillus oryzae. Fermacto have effects of increasing the flock's uniformity, reducing the passage of foodstuffs, eliminating the competitive challenge, developing intestinal villi, increasing energy and protein absorption, increasing the absorption and storage of minerals especially calcium and phosphorus, enhancing the immune system, and improving weight gain on time of stress (Ghahri et al. 2013). An experiment was conducted as a completely randomized design using 400 day-old quail chicks (mixed sex) with four treatments, five replicates, and 20 quail chicks in each replicate from 1 to 42 days of age. Experimental treatments were included: (1) control group (basal diet without any feed additive), (2) basal diet contains 0.9 g/kg Primalac, (3) basal diet contains 2 g/kg Fermacto and (4) basal diet contains 0.9 g/kg Primalac + 2 g/kg Fermacto. Diets were formulated to meet or exceed the nutritional requirements of Japanese quail as indicated in the standard tables (NRC, 1994). Quails in each replicate were weighed weekly and feed intake was determined at the end of each week. From these data, average daily weight gain, average daily feed intake and feed conversion ratio were calculated. On day 42 of experiment, two birds (one male and one female) from each replicate were selected, then weighed, were slaughtered and carcass yield and carcass components including breast, thighs, wings, abdominal fat, fat around neck, and bursa of Fabricius were weighed using a digital scale and their relative weight to body weight were calculated. The length of the various parts of the small intestine, including the duodenum, jejunum and ileum, was measured after the separation from the mesenteric with the ruler. To study the blood metabolites, blood samples were taken from the wing vein of two quails in each replicate (one male and one female) on day 42 and then, sera were separated to measure triglycerides, cholesterol, HDL, and LDL using enzymatic kits via colorimetric method. To determine ileal microbial population of quails, after opening the abdominal cavity, ileum region, between Meckel’s diverticulum and ileocecal junction, separated by a sterilized scissor, about two centimeters of the ileum were transferred into sterile microtubes and were stored at -20 ̊C until studying E.coli, lactobacillus and coliform microbial populations (Roostaei-Ali Mehr et al. 2014). Eosin methylene blue agar medium (Merck, Germany) was used to culture E.coli. MacConkey agar (Merck,
Germany) and MRS (Merck, Germany) were used to cultivate coliforms and Lactobacillus, respectively. The results indicated that 0.9 g/kg probiotic Primalac, 2 g/kg prebiotic Fermacto, and 0.9 g/kg probiotic Primalac + 2 g/kg prebiotic Fermacto in diet had no significant effect on daily feed intake, daily weight gain, and feed conversion ratio (P>0.05). It was reported that the use of probiotic (Primalac) to the diet of Japanese quail had no effect on daily weight gain and daily feed intake (Rezaeipour et al. 2015). Several factors can affect the consumption of bird feed, including the physiological and nutritional factors, health and the rate of production and type of bird (Blair, 2008). The results indicated that treatments did not affected on weight of carcass and internal organs (P>0.05; Table 3). It was reported that using probiotic to the diet of Japanese quail had no effect on weight of carcass and carcass traits (Sahin et al. 2011). It was reported that addition of probiotic (Primalac) and prebiotic (Fermacto) to the diet of broilers did not have any effect on growth performance and carcass quality, carcass weight, carcass traits, breast, heart, abdominal fat, spleen, and bursa of Fabricius (Shirmohammad et al. 2015). Treatments had no significant effect on relative length of the small intestine segments (duodenum, jejunum and ileum) (P>0.05). Shirmohammad et al. (2015) reported that intestinal traits of broilers were not affected by Primalac and Fermacto. Since the most important feature of probiotics is their ability to settle in the gastrointestinal tract, native microbial strains of gastrointestinal tract are usually prepared as probiotics, so probiotics produced for broilers may not be suitable for establishment or proliferation in the Japanese quail digestive system. Treatments had no significant effect on triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL, and LDL (P>0.05). It is reported that the supplementation of the Japanese quail diet with Primalac did not have any effect on serum triglycerides, cholesterol, LDL, and HDL of broilers (Rezaeipour et al. 2015). Sahin et al. (2008) reported that cholesterol, triglyceride and glucose levels were not affected by experimental treatments when using synbiotic (Saccharomyces cerevisiae + mannan oligosaccharide) in Japanese quail diets. The levels of serum cholesterol and triglycerides in birds affected by diet and other factors such as age, sex, and environmental conditions (Haddadin et al. 1996). Non-significant changes for intestinal microflora were observed (P>0.05; Table 6). Researchers reported that the consumption of probiotic (Protexin) in the diet of quail did not have any significant effect on bacterial populations (Nasehi et al. 2015). When using feed additives, consideration of points such as rate of consumption, temperature, humidity, water consumption and environmental health are necessary (Chiang and Hsieh, 1995). It could be concluded that 0.9 g/kg probiotic (Primalac), 2 g/kg prebiotic (Fermecto) and synbiotic (0.9 g/kg probiotic Primalac + 2 g/kg prebiotic Fermecto) had not any positive effect on growth performance, carcass traits, length of small intestine, serum lipids as well as the number of Lactobacillus bacteria, coliforms, and E.coli in Japanese quail.

Boldenone undecylenate is an anabolic steroid that stimulates protein production. Boldenone injection can increase muscle size in lambs and reduce their nutritional needs and increase feed intake. Anabolic steroids increase protein synthesis in the muscles of tissues; furthermore, high levels of diet protein can increase the amino acid for the tissues and further synthesize the protein by the androgens. The aim of this study was to investigate the fattening performance, nutrient digestibility, and carcass characteristics of Romanov-Moghani crossbred lambs influenced by boldenone undecylenate injection and level of dietary protein. Twenty male lambs were used in a randomized completely design with factorial arrangement (2×2) of the treatments. The main experimental effects were effect of boldenone undecylenate (no injection or injection of 5 mg/kg BW of boldenone) and effect of diet protein level (12 or 16 percent per DM of the diet). The experiment was continued for 75 days. Lambs were classified according to body weight and diets were fed to lambs twice a day at 9 a.m. and 17 p.m. In order to evaluate the performance, lambs were weighed every two weeks and daily weight gain was calculated by the subtraction. Feed intake was determined from the difference between the offered feed and the refusal. At the end of the experiment, all lambs were slaughtered and their carcass characteristics were measured. Blood sampling were taken monthly (two times) from jugular vein in two stages from all lambs three hours after morning meal and blood plasma was separated by centrifuging (3500 rpm for 10 min) and kept at -20 ° C till the analysis. Results showed that total average daily gain changed significantly by boldenone undecylenate injection (P<0.05). Feed conversion ratio for total period and average total weight gain were not affected by increased dietary protein level. Total average daily gain and weight at the end of fattening period were not changed significantly by the dietary protein. Total dry matter intake (DMI) in Romanov-Moghani lambs was not affected by boldenone injection and levels of dietary protein. The carcass characteristics of lambs were not significantly affected by hormonal injection or dietary protein levels. The results showed that the effects of hormonal injection and dietary protein change were not significant on nutrients digestibility, except for crude protein digestibility (P<0.01). Blood urea nitrogen concentration was influenced by hormonal injections during the first month (hormone injection period) and injection of hormone caused a significant decrease in blood urea nitrogen (P<0.05). Blood protein concentration increased significantly at the end of the first month (hormone injection period), (P<0.05). The serum protein level was affected by the interaction of hormone with protein (P<0.05). Diet protein has a significant effect on blood glucose concentration (P<0.05). Triglyceride and was significantly altered with hormonal injections in the first month (hormone injection period), (P<0.05). Based on the results, Administration of Boldenone undecylenate and the use of different level of dietary protein changes the protein base metabolism in the crossbred lambs and more energy is used to synthesize and storage protein in tissues.

The replacement of inorganic mineral with organic sources can impose benefical effects on broiler chickens. The replacement of 25 and 50% inorganic iodine with organic source had beneficial effects on the determined indices of current experiment (Angelovicova et al., 2012). Higher replacement levels (100% organic iodine) detrimentally affected the blood and tissue indices of broiler chickens (Opalinski et al., 2012; Saki et al., 2012; Peyvastegan et al., 2017). The aim of this study was to investigate the replacement of inorganic mineral with organic sources iodine effects on performance, carcass characteristics, meat iodine, thyroid hormones, and some blood indices in broiler chickens. This experiement was performed to investiage the effects of different levels of inorganic iodine (potassium iodiate) replaced with organic source (yeast iodine) on performance, carcass characteristics, iodine content of meat, and thyroid hormone concentrations and blood indices (hematocrit, RBC, WBC, Hb, ALP, ALT, AST, cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL, LDL) in broiler chcikens. The experiment was done based on a completely randomized design using 250 male broiler chickens (Ross strain) with 5 treatments and 5 replicates per each treatment (10 birds per each replicate) during a 42 days period. The experimental treatments included different replacement levels of 0.0 (5 mg/kg inorganic iodine without any organic source), 0.25 (3.75 mg/kg inorganic iodine along with 1.25 mg/kg organic source), 0.50 (2.5 mg/kg inorganic iodine along with 2.5 mg/kg organic source), 0.75 (1.25 mg/kg inorganic iodine along with 3.75 mg/kg organic source) and 100% (5 mg/kg organic iodine without any inorganic source) inorganic iodine (potassium iodiate) with organic source (yeast iodine). None of the repleacement levels of inorganic with organic source had effects on feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio (P>0.05). Inceasing the inorganic replacement with organic form of iodine linearly increased the carcass and thigh relative weight (P<0.05). The birds fed 5 mg/kg inorganic iodine had the highest carcass weight (P<0.05). The birds fed the diets including 75 and 100% of organic iodine replacement had the highest breast and thigh weights (P<0.05). The abdominal fat trended to be lower in birds fed 5 mg/kg organic iodine (100% replamecment) as compared to control diet (100% inorganic iodine), (P=0.065). Moreover, increasing the replacement amount of organic iodine to 100% increased the breast meat iodine content linearly (P<0.05), while breast meat of birds fed 5 mg/kg organic iodine had the highest iodine content (P<0.05). Moreover, the breast iodine content of birds fed the diets with 75% replacement of inorganic iodine (3.75 mg yeats iodine and 1.25 mg potasium iodate per kg) was higher than those of diets with lower inorganic iodine replacements (P<0.05). No effects of inorganic iodine replacement were detected on relative weights of liver, heart, spleen, small intestine, deudenum and ileum (P>0.05), but incressing replacement of organic iodine caused an increase in the relative weights of pancreas, gizzard, jujenum, and thyroid gland (P<0.05). Birds which received the highest replacement level of organic iodine showed the highest pancrease,
gizzard, jejunem and thyroid gland weights wherease the control birds had the lowest weights of these organs at day 42 of experiment. There were no effects of inorganic iodine replacement with organic source on white blood cells, lymphocytes, monocytes, basophils, eosinophils and hetrophils at day 42 of experiment (P>0.05). Moreover, increasing the organic iodine replacement to inorganic form increased red blood cells and hematocrit (P<0.05). Blood hematocrit was increased by increasing the organic replacement until 50% (P<0.05). No effects of replacement level were observed for blood triglyceride and cholesterol (P>0.05). Both the blood LDL and HDL contents were affected by the replacement levels (P<0.05). Blood LDL concentration was increased by increasing the inorgainic level replacements but there were no significant difference between the replacement levels of 50, 75 and 100% inorganic iodine. The highest blood HDL concentration was related to the birds fed the 50% replacement of inorganic iodine with organic iodine source (2.5 mg yeast iodine and 2.5 mg potassium iodate). Moreover, the lowest blood HDL content was observed for the birds fed 75% replacement of inorganic iodine with organic iodine source. The blood enzyme activities of alanine amino transferase, aspartate amino transferase and alkaline phosphatase along with T3 and T4 contents were increased by increasing the replacement level of inorganic iodine with organic source (P<0.05). The birds fed the control diet (5 mg/kg potassium iodate) had the lowest enzyme activities and thyroid hormone contents while the highest activity of the mentioned enzymes and thyroid hormones were observed for the higest replacement rate (100% inorganic iodine replacement). It is concluded that higher than 50% inorganic replacement with yeast iodine caused functional impairment of vital organs. Hence, replacement of 25 and 50% inorganic iodine with organic form had the benefical effects in broiler chickens by increasing the carcass and thigh weights, the breast iodine content and relative weights of internal organs.

Rearing length of broiler chickens has been substantially decreased and concurrently growth performance has been increased (Hulet, 2007). Prevalence of some certain metabolic disorders such as ascites is occurred in association with high growth rate (Julian, 2005) and increased Oxygen demand for metabolism (Wideman et al, 1996). It seems that decreasing in feed offering induces higher relative growth rate in internal body parts such as heart, liver and etc. (Boostani et al, 2010) that can be effective in prevention of metabolic disorders. In general, feed restriction included of quantitative and qualitative restrictions, in which quantitative is related to limit the amount of daily feed offered to the birds, whereas qualitative restriction is related to dietary nutrient dilution (Zubair and Leeson, 1996). Therefore, compensatory gain after feed restriction may have positive effects on feed efficiency and cause more economic benefits (Plavnik and Hurwitz, 1990). In a previous experiment using various methods and different levels of feed restriction, it was indicated that every other day feed restriction from 9 to 18 days of age resulted in higher commercial efficiency and productivity (Karimi and Nemati, 2018). In another study by Maleki et al (2018), ascites was induced by thyroxin administration after light feed restriction period. Thyroxin consumption resulted to lower feed intake and body weight because of catabolic effects of thyroxin. While, there are some studies showed positive effects of thyroxin on cell differentiation and finally body growth, which are controversial with the study of Maleki et al (2018). On the other hand, what results can be expected by administering of Methimazole instead of thyroxin? It is expected that lower body metabolism by the use of Methimazole versus catabolic effects of thyroxin, induces higher growth with no metabolic disorders because of lower metabolic rate and oxygen demands and lower pressure on internal body organs. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effects of hyper- and hypothyroidism on compensatory growth, productivity traits and blood parameters in broiler chickens. Total number of 640 one-day old boiler chicks were used based on a completely randomized design and allocated to 4 experimental groups with 4 replicates per each group. Experimental groups included: 1) control group with no feed restriction (con), 2) every other day feed restriction from 8 to 21 d (FR), 3) resemble to group 2 followed by Levothyroxin administration (FRLev), 4) resemble to group 2 followed by Methimazole administration (FRMMI). Feed consumption, body weight, FCR (feed conversion rate) and EPF (European productivity factor) were calculated at the end of every rearing phase (starter: 1-21 days of age (d), grower: 22-35 d, finisher: 36-49 d). Blood sampling and sacrificing (three birds per each replicate) were carried out at day 49 of experiment. Carcass segments and blood factors included T3 (Triiodothyronine), T4 (thyroxine), Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and hematocrit were evaluated. In order to determine the ascites index, as an indicator of cardiac function and hypertrophy index, ascites index was calculated by the cardiac right ventricular mass ratio to the cardiac left ventricular and ventricular septum mass (Maleki et al, 2018). All data were analyzed based on a completely randomized design by proc GLM of SAS software (version 9.1) and means were compared by Duncan multiple range test. Statistical analysis of d 21 of experiment declared higher feed intake (FI) and body weight (BW) in CON versus FR group because of lower feed offering, but there was no significant difference in FCR parameter among experimental groups. In grower phase, body weight gain was higher in experimental groups (except for FRLev) than control group. There were substantial differences among experimental groups in FCR, in this regard the best FCR was observed in FR group. The lowest feed consumption was observed in group FRLev (group FRMMI) in total. Group FR significantly had lower FI and feed conversion ratio (FCR) and higher European Productivity Efficiency factor (EPEF) than other experimental groups (P<0.05). T4 administration after feed restriction period induced lower FI and FCR than CON (P<0.05), but MMI administration had no substantial effects on commercial traits and finally led to lower BW versus CON at d 49 (P>0.05). Induction of hyper and hypo thyroidism led to higher relative weight of liver versus CON (P<0.05). There was higher T4 in hyperthyroidism and lower T3 in hypothyroidism groups at d 49, respectively. There were no significant differences among experimental groups in AST, ALT, ALP, hematocrit, and ascites index at 49 days (P>0.05). It seems every other day feed restriction, from d 8 to 21, without following thyroid manipulation led to productivity improvement without negative effects on carcass properties.

Many researches have been conducted to find suitable alternatives for antibiotics and were all looking for additives that could produce similar results in the control of infectious diseases, improving the growth performance and feed efficiency. Essential oils and herbal extracts are considered as one of the main sources of natural pharmaceutical compounds with anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties. In the study of Rostami et al. (2015), it has been shown that dietary supplementation with Scrophularia striata powder at the level of 0.8 % of diet improved performance and immune response of meat-type chickens when compared with antibiotic supplement. However, due to the lack of research about the influence of S. striata extract on broiler performance, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of S. striata extract on male broiler growth performance, blood biochemistry and hematology, and to compare them with three feed additives (antibiotic, probiotic and vitamin E + vitamin C + selenium complex). A total number of 450 one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were divided into 30 groups of 15 chicks each (six treatments and five replicates per treatment). The six experimental treatments were as follows: corn – soybean meal basal diet with no additives (control diet) and basal diet containing salinomycin antibiotic, probiotic, vitamin E + vitamin C + selenium complex (VS, 200 mg/kg vitamin E and C and 0.3 mg/kg selenium), 200 and 400 mg/kg S. striata extract (SSE1 and SSE2). Feed intake (FI) and body weight gain (BWG) were recorded in each phase feeding periods as starter (0-10 d), grower (11-24 d) and finisher (25-42 d) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated. To study the effects of different treatments on blood biochemistry and hematology, blood samples of two birds from each replicate were collected from the wing vein at the end of experiment. Samples containing EDTA were stored in ice box and immediately transferred to the laboratory for analyses. The other samples were centrifuged at 2,000×g for 10 min and frozen at −20°C until analysis. The red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) counts were determined by a hemocytometer method using Natt–Herrick solution; hematocrit (packed cell volume) and hemoglobin values were measured by microhematocrit and cyanmethemoglobin methods, respectively (Kececi et al. 1998). To determine blood leukocyte profiles, 100 leukocytes per samples were counted by an optical microscope according to protocol described by Lucas and Jamroz (1961). The heterophil (H)/lymphocyte (L) ratio was then calculated. Biochemical parameters consisted of glucose, total protein, albumin, uric acid, triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), lipase, calcium and phosphorus. All analyses were made using the commercial kits (Pars Azmoon, Iran) and a standard auto analyzer apparatus (Biotecnica, BT-3000, Rome, Italia), except for calcium. Calcium (Ca) value was determined by the atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Shimadzu AA-6200, Tokyo, Japan). The data were analyzed in a completely randomized design by ANOVA using the General Linear Model (GLM) procedure of SAS Institute. In the grower (days 11–24) and the overall (days 1–42) experimental periods, the FI of the SSE1 and SSE2 groups was lower (P < 0.05) compared with the control group. During the finisher (25-42 d) and whole experimental periods, the BWG and FCR were better (P < 0.05) in all experimental treatments compared with control group, where the birds fed diet SSE1 and SSE2 had the best BWG and FCR. The blood protein and albumin in the birds fed diet SSE2 was significantly higher than in birds fed the control and antibiotic diets. All diets, except diet M, decreased cholesterol and LDL levels compared with the control diet. Feeding SSE1 and SSE2 diets increased blood phosphorus concentration and blood lipase activity protein deposition; additionally, feeding SSE2 diet significantly increased blood calcium level. Furthermore, broilers fed the antibiotic and SSE2 diets had higher blood hemoglobin level and lower WBC counts compared with VS treatment (P < 0.01). The birds fed any of the diets, except diet SSE1, exhibited lower H/L ratio than those fed the control diet. The better BWG and FCR in broilers which fed 200 and 400 mg/kg S. striata extract reveals that the impact of phytogenic products on performance could be related to the presence of growth-promoting substances in these herbs. In general, an improvement in FCR of chickens when feeding herbal products has been proven in the majority of the studies recently reviewed by Brenes and Roura (2010), who indicated that in most researches the improvement in FCR comes as a result of decreasing in FI at a largely unaffected BWG. However, in this study S. striata extract-containing treatments not only decreased FI, but also increased BWG. Polyphenolic compounds inhibit the activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA) enzyme; hence, the synthesis of cholesterol is inhibited. This action increases the LDL receptors at the surface of the hepatocytes and, as a result, accelerate LDL catabolism. HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, reduce blood LDL, and to a lesser extent, blood triglyceride concentrations and slightly increase HDL concentrations (Barreto et al., 2008). Monsef-Esfahani et al. (2010) discovered that the essential oils and extracts from S. striata contain quercetin, which have important antioxidant activity. Therefore, enhanced lymphocyte percentage and decreased H/L ratio by the SSE2 treatment, along with the cell protection against oxidative stress, seemed to contribute to the higher WBC count reported in this study. According to the results, the 400 mg/kg S. striata extract can be used as an alternative to antibiotics and other commonly used additives at the level of to the diet of broiler chickens.