2.3. Animals, feeding
Four fistulated Holstein Friesian× Red Shindi crossbred
cows (mean body weight, 481± 48 kg) were individually
housed in metabolic cages. The cows were randomly assigned
to receive dietary treatments in a 4× 4 Latin square design,
the dietary treatments were: 1) CO silage, 2) MO silage, 3)
FJLB silage, and 4) MO-FJLB silage. All cows were also fed 1.5%
body weight (BW) of a concentrate containing 16% CP. The
28-d experimental period consisted of 21 d of feed intake and
7 d of sampling. Feed was offered twice daily at 08:00 and
15:00 h, and the refused portions were weighed daily before
the morning feeding. BW was measured before the morning
feeding at the beginning and end of each experimental
period. The daily DM intake per unit of metabolic BW was
calculated with the mean value of the initial BW and the
final BW of each period. During the 7 d sampling, all feces
were collected for each cow at the morning and afternoon,
according to the total collection method. All procedures were
approved by the Ethical Principles for the Use of Animals for
Scientific Purposes of the National Research Council of