Table 2.

Chemical composition (g/kg DM, unless stated otherwise) of the different ingredients in the basal diet and of the seaweed A. taxiformis fed to dairy cows. Diet consisted of grass silage, maize silage, soybean meal, compound feed, and wheat straw, with a ratio of 57:25:12:3:2 ¹.

Nutrients	Grass Silage 2	Maize Silage	Soybean Meal	Compound Feed 3	Wheat Straw	A. taxiformis
DM (g/kg)	466	348	874	878	886	951
Ash	121	47	70	45	67	510
Crude Protein	203	69	513	115	36	146 4
Crude Fat	43	30	13	10	11	7.5
Crude Fiber	219	181	46	100	404	65
NDF	430	377	242	257	757	ND
ADF	237	209	142	123	454	ND
ADL	14	14	4	8	51	ND
Reducing Sugar	95	12	117	128	30	11
Starch	ND	323	ND	ND	ND	ND
CHBr3 (mg/kg DM)	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	1.26

¹ Day 10, diet consisted of grass silage, maize silage, and soybean meal only with a ratio of 33:53:14; DM basis. ² Day 10, grass silage was changed to DM = 549 g/kg, ash = 109 g/kg DM, crude protein = 141 g/kg DM, crude fat = 33 g/kg DM, crude fiber = 227 g/kg DM, NDF = 452 g/kg DM, ADF = 244 g/kg DM, ADL = 27 g/kg DM, and reducing sugar = 157 g/kg DM. ³ 60% beet pulp, 40% wheat; DM basis. ⁴ Crude protein for all ingredients calculated as N × 6.25. The factor 6.25 may overestimate the crude protein content of macroalgae in general [15]. ND = Not determined.