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
Reducing body fat in broiler chickens and some physiological consequences
Five experiments were conducted to devise a feeding strategy to reduce fat deposition in broiler chickens. From these experiments it was determined that early feed restrictions, beginning at 7 days of age, decreased body fat, improved FCE, and had little…
The influence of loss and gain of body mass on ovarian activity in beef cows
Ovarian activity was studied in 36 dry, Bos taurus cows fed to achieve different rates of body mass loss and gain in a 2 x 2 factorial experiment. Cows were fed hay to supply either 70% (Treatments 1, 2) or…
Ureumaangevulde- en ureumgeammoniseerde koringstrooi as ruvoerbronne vir oorsomeringsrantsoene vir laatdragtige- en lakterende S
Urea-supplemented wheat straw (UWS) was substituted stepwise by urea-ammoniated wheat straw (AWS) in diets fed to SA Mutton Merino ewes during late pregnancy and lactation. The experimental animals were fed ad libitum under zero grazing conditions over the last 8…
Predicting the risk of mineral deficiencies in grazing animals
Problems relating to the anticipation and elimination of poor production due to mineral deficiencies in grazing livestock will be examined in this paper. Its concern is with subclinical problems rather than catastrophic clinical problems. The ways in which hypothetical models…
The establishment of a protein degradability data base for dairy cattle using the nylon bag technique. 1. Protein sources
The protein degradability of various South African ruminant feed protein sources was determined in the rumen of cannulated lactating dairy cattle. The effective protein degradability was calculated at different fractional outflow rates, using the nylon bag technique. The degradability values…
Protein digestion in ruminants
Although the protein requirement of domestic ruminants may be calculated from a simple one-compartment model, this approach ignores factors such as microbial fermentation in the rumen and the non-equality of feed proteins. By examining digestion in each of the functional…
Growth, carcase and meat characteristics of stress susceptible and stress resistant South African Landrace gilts
Growth rate, average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, muscle pH, backfat thickness, dressing percentage, drip loss, cooking loss, water holding capacity, and shear force were measured in 47 South African Landrace gilts of which 30 were…
Die invloed van ouderdom en produksiestatus van Afrikaner- en Herefordkoeie op die eienskappe van hul speenkalwers
The effect of age and parity of Afrikaner and Hereford cows on the weaning traits of their calves. Data from a registered Hereford herd and a registered Afrikaner herd were used to investigate the influence…
The nutritive value of the leaves and pods of Acacia tortilis (Short communication)
Acacia tortilis twigs with leaves or seedpods, from the Tugela valley, were milled and fed to five two-tooth wethers for 6 days in separate digestion trials, after a suitable adaptation period. The twigs with leaves contained 10,8% CP…
Feed intake, growth and feed utilization patterns of pigs highly divergent in growth rate
A group of slow-growing Landrace and a group of fast-growing Large White boars were used to study their patterns of feed intake, growth rate and feed utilization. The pigs were fed ad libitum on a high-energy diet of a high…
Class FH Sunflower seeds (Helianthus annuus) as an energy/protein source for early weaned piglets
The digestible energy (DE) content of milled and whole class FH sunflower seed (SS) was determined in a digestion trial and found to be respectively 18,7 and 9,9 MJ/kg on an air dry basis. Two diets for early weaned piglets…
The in vivo prediction of body composition in Boer goat does by means of the tritiated water space technique
Twelve non-lactating Boer goat does with live masses ranging between 20 and 60 kg and of different body fatness were used to develop equations predicting body moisture, protein, ash and fat from tritiated water space. Calculated coefficients of variation, with…
Beef steers implanted with short, medium and long-acting anabolic compounds grazing natural pasture and finished in feedlot
Two studies involving 270 yearling steers were conducted to compare four growth promotants (three estrogenic and one androgenic). These represented short, medium and long-acting compounds and were implanted into steers that were grazing natural pasture and were finished…
The chemical composition and nutritive value of kikuyu pasture (Short communication)
The relationship between the chemical composition of kikuyu and the dry matter intake (DMI), digestibility of the chemical fractions and digestible organic matter (DOM) of kikuyu was investigated. The chemical composition and in vivo digestibility of kikuyu were determined throughout…
Genetiese parameters van speenkalfeienskappe by Herefordkalwers (Short communication)
Genetic parameters of weaning traits of Hereford calves. The inheritance and interassociation of weaning traits for 912 Hereford calves, the progeny of 22 sires, collected over a period of 11 years, were studied. The estimates of heritability of the…
The effect of an induced copper deficiency on the total plasma copper and unconjugated plasma progesterone concentrations during
The effect of a copper deficiency on certain aspects of reproduction in ewes was investigated. An effective copper deficiency was induced by using the copper antagonists cadmium, calcium and sulphate. An average decline in the plasma copper concentration from 160…
Die invloed van liggaamsparameters op die reproduksieprestasie van karakoelooie
The influence of body parameters on the reproductive performance of Karakul ewes. The influence of body mass, condition and size on the reproduction of mature Karakul ewes was investigated during the seasonal anestrum and breeding periods. Variation in body mass…
Quantitative feed restriction of Pekin breeder ducks from 3 weeks of age and its effect on subsequent productivity
Six male and 24 female Cherry Valley Pekin ducklings were randomly allocated to each of 12 pens to test the effects of quantitative feed restriction during the rearing period on the subsequent reproductive performance. The three treatments were 50% of…
The effect of supplementation on milk yield in Boer goat ewes
The effect of supplementation on the milk production of Boer goat ewes maintained under veld conditions (grass-/bush community) was studied over a 12-week lactation period. An average of 625 g concentrates was consumed per ewe per day. Supplemented ewes produced…
Die potensiaal van chemies behandelde fluitjiesriet (Phragmites australis)-hooi in onderhoudsdiëte vir skape. 1. Die effek van N
The potential of chemically treated common reed (Phragmites australis) hay in maintenance diets for sheep. 1. The effect of NaOH treatment and ensilage with urea on intake, digestibility and rumen kinetics. Untreated, NaOH treated and urea ensiled common reed…
