The South African Journal of Animal Science is an open access journal. The journal publishes reports of research dealing with production of farmed animal species (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, poultry and ostriches), as well as pertinent aspects of research on aquatic and wildlife species. All submitted articles are subjected to a single-blind peer review process that is managed by a sub-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.
The South African Journal of Animal Science makes use of an Online Journal Management System that was developed in collaboration with the Agricultural Research Council to facilitate the manuscript submission and review process. Authors are kindly requested to submit all articles for publication in the South African Journal of Animal Science via the Online Journal Management system.
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Dietary nano-dicalcium phosphate improves immune response and intestinal morphology of broiler chickens
Various levels of substitution of nano-dicalcium phosphate (nCaHPO4) for the calcium and phosphorus supplied by limestone and monocalcium phosphate were evaluated, based on weight change, serum constituents, immune response and intestinal morphology of broiler chickens. The birds were assigned to…
Essential oil and apple pomace affect fermentation and aerobic stability of alfalfa silage
This study assessed the effects of the additions of an essential oil (EO), composed of ricinoleic acid, cardol, cardanol, and apple pomace, on fermentation quality and aerobic stability of alfalfa silages. The experimental treatments consisted of T1) alfalfa (control), T2)…
Addition of cellulolytic bacteria in complete feed block based on agro-industrial by-products for Kacang goats
The research aimed at assessing the effects on nutrient digestion and ruminal fermentation by goats of a complete feed block (CFB) that incorporated agro-industrial by-products that were high in fibre and cellulolytic bacteria. Three Kacang goats, a native Indonesian breed,…
Effects of gender and dietary date palm extract on performance, carcass traits, and antioxidant status of Japanese quail
This research examined effects of gender and dietary inclusion of date palm extract (DPE) on growth, carcass characteristics, oxidative status and serum characteristics of Japanese quail. One thousand chicks were allocated to five replicates of treatment and gender groups composed…
Digestibility and rumen fermentation of a high forage diet pre-treated with a mixture of cellulase and xylanase enzymes
Forages play an important role in ruminant animal production worldwide. Unlocking the nutritional potential of poor-quality tropical forages with fibrolytic enzymes would improve forage digestibility and utilization. Using in vitro and in vivo methods this study investigated the effect of…
Microbiological quality of silage made from by-products of cassava starch extraction and viticulture
This study evaluated silages made with varying proportions of viticulture by-products (VC) and starch extraction from cassava (CSE). It attempted to determine the effects of these proportions on the microbial population, fermentative losses, and chemical composition. The treatments were specified…
Carcass characteristics and meat quality of lambs fed high levels of spineless cactus in the diet
The objective was to evaluate the effect of increasing the dietary inclusion of spineless cactus (Nopalea cochenillifera Salm Dyck) on the carcass characteristics and meat quality of confined lambs. Thirty-two male Santa Inês lambs with an average age of 140…
Role of essential oils in antioxidant capacity and immunity in a rat model of mixed stress
Animal wellbeing is a balance between environmental stress and nutrition that regulates homeostasis. Augmentation of animal feed with essential oils can promote homeostasis. The present study was designed to observe the biochemical, immunological, and biological effects of daily administration of…
Nutritional valorisation of cane (Arundo donax) by treatment with sodium hydroxide
This study evaluated the effects of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treatment on the nutritional value of Arundo donax (A. donax). Its ultimate goal was to develop an environmentally friendly animal feed alternative that could be produced sustainably while combatting the spread…
Associative effects in diets composed of alfalfa and corn-soybean concentrate fed to growing cashmere goats
The associative effects resulting from the proportions of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and non-fibre carbohydrate (NFC) were explored and assessed by in vitro gas production. Total mixed rations (TMR) composed primarily of alfalfa and corn-soybean concentrate were fed to growing…
Effects of thermal stress on physiological state and hormone concentrations in Holstein cows under arid climatic conditions
This study was conducted to investigate the effect of heat stress on the physiology of dairy cows and to detect the relationship between rectal temperature (RT) and respiration rate (RR), heart rate (HR), and plasma concentrations of cortisol, thyroxine, and…
Statistical assessment of feeding corn with higher oil content to piglets in the starter phase
The aim of this study was to assess the digestibility coefficients (DC) of corn [maize] with an oil content above 3.46% and its effects on the performance of piglets when fed as dry grain (DG) and as rehydrated corn grain…
Effects on egg production and quality of supplementing drinking water with calcium and magnesium
This study was conducted to appraise the effects on egg quality and production performance of laying hens when drinking water was supplemented with calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg). A total of 384 (64-week-old) Hy-line Brown laying hens were assigned at…
Propolis supplementation affects performance, intestinal morphology, and bacterial population of broiler chickens
A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the effect of supplementing the diet of broiler chickens with propolis on growth, bacterial population of the intestine, antiviral serum concentration, intestinal morphology, and digestive enzyme activities in broiler chickens. Forty peer-reviewed articles that…
Dietary Catharanthus roseus modulates intestinal microarchitecture in broilers
The study evaluated the efficacy of ethanolic extracts of Catharanthus roseus (C. roseus) in altering growth performance, viscera development and intestinal microarchitecture in broilers. Day-old broiler chicks (n = 175) were randomly divided into seven groups (n = 25/group) with…
Effect of garlic supplementation on zootechnical performance and hepato-renal functions in nitrate-treated rabbits
The effect of garlic supplementation on zootechnical performance and hepato-renal functions of rabbits exposed to experimental nitrate poisoning was evaluated. Adult male 6-8 week-old albino rabbits (n= 24) were randomly divided into four groups (A - D) and subjected to…
Use of Lactobacillus farciminis to improve antioxidant status of Tuj lambs
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus farciminis on growth traits and antioxidant status in preweaning and postweaning Tuj lambs. Twenty lambs were divided into four groups, regardless of gender, with a mean live weight…
Effects of feed with different protein digestion kinetic profiles on intestinal health of growing pigs
This study evaluated the effects of feed ingredients with different protein digestion kinetic profiles on the intestinal health of growing pigs. Two protein sources were selected, namely casein (CAS) as a rapid release source of amino acids (AAs), and corn…
Fractionation of carbohydrates and proteins and in vitro rumen kinetics of corn silage under various storage durations
The experiment evaluated the effects on the chemical composition (fermentation, kinetic parameters, and protein and carbohydrate fractions) of corn silage after various storage durations (45, 90, 180, and 360 days). Experimental mini silos of the corn plants were made and…
Partial replacement of DL-Methionine and methionine hydroxy analogue with betaine in diets for broiler chickens
The study evaluated the effects on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens of DL-Methionine (DL-Met) and methionine hydroxy analogue (MHA) supplementation and their partial replacement with betaine (Bet). Two experiments were performed from day 1 to 21…