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
Influence of season of birth on sexual maturity in Karakul ewe lambs (Short communication)
Ewe lambs born to group pen-fed Karakul ewes in the summer (February), winter (June) or spring (October) respectively, were raised to study the influence of season of birth on the onset of sexual maturity. Lambs were exposed to fertile rams…
Geslagsrypheid en reproduksievermoë van Karakoelooie in twee voedingsisteme (Kort mededeling)
Karakul ewe lambs born to ewes which lambed in summer, winter and spring were randomly allocated to pen and veld nutrition. Age at sexual maturity and body mass every 14 days, as well as lambs born up to respectively 45,…
Puberteit en testisgroei in Karakoelramme gebore gedurende verskillende seisoene (Kort mededeling)
Thirty Karakul ram lambs, ten each born in summer, winter or spring were raised from birth to an age of 240 days with pen feeding to study the influence of season of birth on puberty and testis growth. During…
A preliminary investigation into the use of testis size in cross-bred rams as a selection index for ovulation rate in female rel
Twenty one pairs of twins, all progeny of one sire, of which one was a male and the other a female, were weighed monthly from 3 to 14 months of age. Scrotal circumference (SC) and testes v61ume (TV) in rams…
Occurrence of oestrus in the Boer goat doe (Short communication)
Scrotal circumference in young beef bulls: Relationships to growth traits The natural occurrence of oestrus in Boer goat does was recorded for the period 1980 - 1982. Although periods of complete anoestrus were never observed, it would appear that the…
The effect of histological processing on sheep skin samples (Short communication)
An experiment was undertaken to determine the amount of surface area shrinkage and its effect on follicle density estimations in sheep skin samples. Two methods were compared, namely the traditional formalin fixation, dehydration and wax-embedding technique as compared…
The genetic structure of the Jersey breed in South Africa
An analysis of the pedigrees of a random sample of 100 South African-bred first-calf Jersey heifers registered in 1985 showed that most breeders have concentrated on a closely interrelated group of Marlu animals and their descendants. Of the 17 young…
Nuwe ontwikkelings in pluimveevoeding
A review is given of developments in poultry nutrition, with specific reference to aspects concerning the broiler industry. The role of fat in feeds and its influence on body composition are discussed. Attention is paid to the importance of…
Sweet lupins as a feedstuff for broilers
An experiment was conducted to determine the feeding value of sweet white lupins (Lupinus albus variety Buttercup) for broilers up to 8 weeks of age. Two isocaloric and isonitrogenous starter (0 - 4 weeks) and finisher (4 - 8 weeks)…
Nutrient content of sorghum beer strainings
A study was carried out to determine what contribution the consumption of sorghum beer strainings (SBS) could make towards animal nutrition. Sorghum beer strainings were analysed for starch, protein, fat, crude fibre, ash, minerals and phytate content on a dry…
Improvements in the large scale artificial propagation of the sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell), in South Africa
Induced spawning procedures developed under local conditions in the Transvaal for the sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus, using a combination of the chorionic gonadotrophin Chorulon with pituitary gland homogenate from the European common carp, Cyprinus carpio, or from C. gariepinus donors,…
Milk iodine determination: The suitability of milk samples collected in the South African Milk Recording Scheme (Short communic
Milk samples collected for analysis in the South African Milk Recording Scheme are routinely preserved by the addition of potassium dichromate. The influence of this preservative, the duration of storage temperatures (O °C or room temperature) and effect of temperature…
The effect of magnesium oxide supplementation on the fertility of dairy cows grazing fertilized pastures (Short communication)
The Cedara dairy herd of 100 lactating Friesian cows was randomly subdivided into three treatments. A mineral supplement comprising a standard salt + dicalcium phoshate mixture (Treatment 1), the standard + 5% of a commercial trace-mineral premix (Treatment 2) and…
Voorspeense groei van Bonsmarakalwers onder verskillende agro-ekologiese toestande en faktore wat dit beïnvloed (Kort mededelin
Factors influencing birth mass, actual weaning mass and corrected weaning mass were investigated. Herd, year of birth, sex of calf and season of birth as well as interactions between main effects influenced parameters significantly (P<0,05). Spring and winter calves attained…
Phosphorus and the grazing ruminant. 1. The effect of supplementary P on sheep at Armoedsvlakte
The performance in terms of bodymass and reproduction of two groups of free-grazing Dorper ewes, with (+ P) and without (- P) phosphorus (P) supplementation, was investigated over 4,5 years at Armoedsvlakte (notorious for its P-deficient soils) to establish whether…
Phosphorus and the grazing ruminant. 2. The effects of supplementary P on cattle at Glen and Armoedsvlakte
The effects of supplementary P (phosphorus) on the performance of cattle at two distinctly different experimental sites: one notorious for its P-deficient pastures (Armoedsvlakte), the other (Glen) suspected of being deficient in P, were compared over 5,5 years. The acuteness…
Phosphorus and the grazing ruminant. 3. Rib bone samples as an indicator of the P status of cattle
Rib bone samples were taken from free-grazing, crossbred, beef-type cows at different stages of their reproductive cycles to monitor the P status of supplemented and unsupplemented groups. Two experimental sites, Glen and Armoedsvlakte were used, the latter notorious for its…
Phosphorus and the grazing ruminant. 4. Blood and faecal grab samples as indicators of the P status of cattle
Blood plasma and faecal grab samples were evaluated as indicators of P status of cattle grazing at two experimental sites (Glen and Armoedsvlakte). Plasma Pi levels clearly identified the - P cattle at Armoedsvlakte as being P deficient whilst at…
Protein deposition in pigs as influenced by sex, type and livemass. 1. The pattern and composition of protein deposition
One hundred pigs were slaughtered sequentially to characterize and quantify protein deposition in two types (lean and obese) and sexes (boars and gilts) of Landrace pigs. The pigs were fed ad lib on a diet containing 18% protein, 1% lysine…
