The South African Journal of Animal Science is an open access, peer-reviewed journal. The journal publishes reports of research dealing with the production of farmed animal species (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, poultry and ostriches), as well as pertinent aspects of research on companion animals and aquatic and wildlife species. All submitted articles are subjected to a single-blind peer review process that is managed by a section editor under the supervision of the editor-in-chief. Copyright of a published article resides with the authors. Such articles will be published as open access content and be covered by the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 South African Licence. Users may copy, distribute, transmit and adapt the work, but must recognise the authors and the South African Journal of Animal Science.
Originally supported by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), the South African Journal of Animal Science moved online in the early 2000s using a custom-built manuscript submission and editorial management system. In August 2025, the journal transitioned to the Public Knowledge Project’s Open Journal Systems (PKP OJS), hosted by Khulisa Journals at the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf).
In line with international best practices, the journal integrates key components of digital research infrastructure, including DOIs (digital object identifiers), ORCID iDs (researcher identifiers), ROR IDs (research organisation identifiers), and CCLs (Creative Commons Licences), ensuring transparency, traceability, and global interoperability.
As of August 2025, the South African Journal of Animal Science makes use of the Crossref 10.17159 DOI prefix. View the journal metadata health and the Crossref DOI Conflict Report here.
If you experience any problems with the journal’s online platform, please contact the editor-in-chief at [email protected].
Clarivate Journal Impact Factor (2024): 0.6 (Q4 of subject category)
Clarivate Journal Citation Indicator (2024): 0.26
Scopus CiteScore (2024): 1.4
Ram fertility unaffected by high molybdenum intakes
Two trials were conducted to determine the effect of dietary molybdenum (Mo) on the fertility of young rams, when fed for ca. 14 weeks to prevent copper (Cu) toxicity. In the first trial, the sexual development of young weaner rams…
Energy deficiency in kikuyu grass containing high levels of nitrogen
Elevated rumen ammonia levels in sheep on high nitrogen kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst) grass were indicative of a protein/energy imbalance in the grass. To correct the imbalance, grass containing 22% crude protein required maize meal supplementation of at least 20%…
Concentrations of plasma copper and zinc and blood selenium in ewes and lambs of Merino, Dohne Merino and SA Mutton Merino Sheep
Concentrations of plasma copper and zinc as well as blood selenium were determined in single and twin lambs and their dams for a period of 120 days from the birth of the lambs, using Merino, Dohne Merino and SA Mutton…
Invloed van mastitis op melkproduksie, somatiese seltelling, natrium-, kalium en laktosekonsentrasies in beesmelk
Influence of mastitis on milk production, somatic cell count, and concentrations of sodium, potassium and lactose in bovine milk. Milk production, somatic cell count, and concentrations of sodium, potassium and lactose of 32 pairs of normal equivalent quarters as well…
Genetic and phenotypic parameter estimates of production traits of Merino sheep in an arid environment
Genetic and phenotypic parameters were estimated in the control line of the Klerefontein Merino sheep selection experiment. The heritability estimates of 0,247 for body mass, 0,229 for clean fleece mass and 0,369 for fibre diameter are generally lower than other…
Milk production responses to feeding fatty acids (Short communication)
Two trials were conducted to determine the milk production response to feeding a highly saturated free fatty acid supplement to grazed dairy cows in early lactation. The trials were conducted during spring and autumn, respectively. Sixty-five Friesian cows were supplemented…
Vergelyking van verrykte gars, koring, triticale en mielies vir die afronding van vroegspeenlammers (Kort mededeling)
Comparison of enriched barley, wheat, triticale and maize for the fattening of early-weaned lambs. Alkali-ionophoreenriched barley, wheat, triticale and maize were evaluated as diets for the fattening of early-weaned (ca 10 weeks) SA Mutton Merino lambs kept under feedlot conditions…
Heritability of parameters of the allometric-autoregressive model and its correlation with common growth and efficiency traits
The heritabilities of the parameters slope (b) and intercept (In a) of the allometric function: y = In a + bx [where y = In (body mass) and x = In (cumulative feed intake)] and for p, which is the…
Short-term responses to selection for parameters of the allometric-autoregressive model
The allometric-autoregressive model describes growth accurately and is useful in the characterization of growth responses. Hence, the potential of the model for selection purposes was investigated. Rats were used in a selection experiment, where selection was practised for slope (b)…
Medium-term responses to and changes in fitness with selection for parameters of the allometric-autoregressive model
The allometric-autoregressive model describes growth accurately and is useful in the characterization of growth responses. Hence, the potential of the model for selection was investigated. Rats were used in a selection experiment, where selection was practised for slope (b) and…
Lifetime meat production from six different F1 crossbred ewes
The efficiency of meat production with regard to kilogram of lamb weaned per kilogram metabolic mass of ewes at mating of six different Fl crossbred populations, viz. Finnish Landrace x Merino (FL x M), Border Leicester x Merino (BL x…
Substitution of lucerne hay by ammoniated wheat straw in growth diets for lambs
Lucerne hay (LH) was substituted by urea-ammoniated wheat straw (AWS) in four lamb-growth diets, all containing 60% roughage. The ratio of LH to AWS was 60: 0, 40: 20, 20: 40 and 0: 60 in the respective diets, which were…
Effect of winter nutritional levels on subsequent growth of beef heifers in the Highland Sourveld of Natal
The effect of different levels of winter nutrition on the subsequent performance of Simmentaler weaner (seven-month-old) heifers on summer veld at different stocking rates was evaluated in the Highland Sourveld of Natal. The data from 300 heifers over a three-year…
Benutting van verrykte gars en ’n koring/garsmengsel as afrondingsrantsoene vir vroegspeenlammers
Utilization of enriched barley and a wheat/barley mixture in feedlot rations for early weaned lambs. Whole barley and a wheat/barley mixture (67: 33) were enriched with either a locally composed supplement (containing urea and minerals absorbed into the grain, with…
Response of SA Mutton Merino ewes and their lambs to supplementation with enriched oat, barley or triticale grain on wheat stubb
Oat, barley or triticale grain, enriched by addition of nitrogen, minerals, and an ionophore, was fed for 90 days as supplement at a level of 500 g per head per day to SA Mutton Merino ewes during late pregnancy and…
Effek van voeding en aktiewe immunisering teen androsteendioon op die reproduksie van SA Vleismerino ooie
Effect of nutrition and active immunization against androstenedione on reproduction of SA Mutton Merino ewes: Two groups of SA Mutton Merino ewes, consisting of forty ewes each, were used to determine the effect of nutritional level and immunization against…
National genetic improvement programmes in the United States beef industry (Review)
There are at least 15 breeds of beef cattle in the United States which have or are in the process of developing national genetic evaluation programmes. These 15 breeds represent over 600000 new registrations each year. The commercial cattle industry…
Supplementary feeding in ruminants – A physiological approach (Review)
An alternative strategy for supplementing ruminants fed low-quality roughages is discussed. In this strategy, the quantity and quality of supplement are adjusted to constrain mass-loss to a limit compatible with the productive function of the animal. The limits to mass-loss…
