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 (2025): 0.8 (Q4 of subject category)
Scimago (SJR) (2025): 0.231 (Q3)
Scopus CiteScore (2025): 1.4
Evaluation of chia gel incorporation as a fat substitute in Nile tilapia fishburger
Chia gel is known for its functional properties such as high water and oil retention capacity, emulsifying activity, and as a stabilizer for foams and emulsions. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the inclusion…
The effect of pre-slaughter electrical stunning on bleeding efficiency, meat quality, histology, and microbial count of several goat muscles
This study was designed to compare the effect of non-electrical stunning and electrical stunning on bleeding efficiency, meat quality characteristics, bacterial count, and histology of longissimus thoraces, semitendinosus, biceps femoris, infraspinatus, semimembranosus, and triceps brachii muscles of goats. Forty goats…
Influence of feeding on different types of pasture on the fatty acid profile and health indices of goat milk
The main objective of the present research was to study the change in fatty acid (FA) composition of milk fat in a Carpathian local breed during grazing on two plots characterized by a different cover with herbaceous species and woody…
Behaviour of farmed fallow deer fawns in the rearing period depends on weather conditions
Farmed fallow deer (Dama dama) fawns need to receive care and help from their mothers and be stimulated by other individuals, including their peers. This helps them to learn to live in a group, establish their place in the herd,…
Effect of yeast peptide dietary supplementation on nutrient digestibility, growth performance, and blood metabolites in geese
A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of yeast peptide supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and blood metabolites in geese. One-day-old Sichuan white geese (n = 300, 95.16 ± 1.98 g) were randomly assigned to five dietary treatment…
Effect of different levels of Labazyme supplementation on production and biochemical traits in quail
The study was conducted to determine the effect of different levels of Labazyme (a multi-enzyme with probiotics) on production and biochemical traits in quail. A total of 180 quail were housed in 12 pens; each group was randomly allocated to…
Comparative energy value of cooked grease recovered from rinse-trap water lines used as dietary fat source for feedlot lambs
The objective of this experiment was to compare the effects of dietary supplementation with cooking grease recovered from rinse-trap water lines (rinse-trap grease; RTG) versus conventional supplemental fats (tallow; TL, and yellow grease; YG) on 84-d growth performance, dietary energy,…
Effect of various pH levels on the sperm kinematic parameters of boars
The objective of this work was to identify the effects of pH on the structure of kinematic sperm subpopulations using commercial doses of boar semen diluted in Androstar Plus extender. We adjusted the pH value of the diluted semen samples…
Performance and meat quality of broiler chickens fed diets containing hydroethanolic extract of guavira seed or peel
The dietary inclusion of hydroethanolic extract of guavira seed or peel was evaluated on broiler performance, intestinal morphometry, carcass yield, and meat quality. A total of 1,680 male chicks, one day old, were distributed in a 2×5+2 factorial design (hydroethanolic…
A field study of Bacillus licheniformis-fermented products on growth performance and faecal microbiota of weaning piglets
This study investigated the effects of Bacillus licheniformis-fermented products (BLFPs) on the growth performance, faecal microbiota, and antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) expression in weaning piglets on a commercial farm. Ninety-six weaning piglets were randomly assigned to four treatments as follows:…
Influence of reduced dietary protein level on quality of pork carcasses in Windsnyer pigs
To promote the sustainable production of local pigs, their dietary protein requirements need to be determined. Meat production from these pigs when fed on appropriate diets, coupled with their adaptability to climatic extremes and disease and parasite challenges, could be…
MC4R gene polymorphisms for classification of growth efficiency and carcass measurements in two rabbit breeds in Egypt
Melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R), a protein derived from the MC4R gene, is involved in feed intake, metabolism control, and body weight regulation in humans. The purpose of this research was to explore MC4R polymorphisms alongside metabolic marker changes and their…
Effects of different additions to Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) on silage quality
This research was carried out to determine the effects of different additions (urea and molasses) to Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) silage on fermentation, in vitro gas production, microbiological properties, in vitro digestibility parameters, and relative fodder quality (RFQ) in…
Effects of oregano essential oil and capsicum extract supplementation on slaughter characteristics, meat quality, and fatty acid composition of lambs
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of oregano essential oil (OEO) and capsicum oleoresin extract (CAO) supplementation on lamb slaughter characteristics, meat quality, and fatty acid composition. In the study, 18 male and 18 female lambs…
Effect of extrusion with molasses on the rumen undegradable protein fraction of canola oilcake meal and sweet lupins
The effect of the extrusion of canola oilcake meal (COM) and crushed sweet lupins (CSL) with molasses on the dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) degradability was determined in situ. Locally sourced (SOILL Moorreesburg, South Africa) COM and CSL,…
Morula (Sclerocarya birrea) kernel cake as a partial soybean meal replacer in Ross 308 broiler diets: Effects on feed utilisation, growth performance, and selected blood parameters
The effects of replacing soybean meal (SBM) with graded levels of morula kernel cake (MKC) on growth performance and haemo-biochemical parameters in broiler chickens were studied. Four iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric diets were formulated by replacing the SBM component at 0,…
Mitigating heat stress in broiler chickens using dietary onion (Allium cepa) and ginger (Zingiber officinale) supplementation
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary onion (Allium cepa) and ginger (Zingiber officinale) supplementation on growth, carcass quality, antioxidant status, and immune response in broilers under heat stress. A total of 700 day-old Hubbard…
Dietary supplementation with vegetable oils with low n-6:n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratios improves the intramuscular fat and fatty acid composition of growing-finishing pigs
This study investigated the effects of different n-6:n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratios in pig diets using vegetable oil supplementation on growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality, and fatty acid composition in the longissimus dorsi muscle (LM) and subcutaneous adipose…
Responses of broiler chickens fed diets containing sunflower meal and wheat middlings pre-treated with enzymes
The effects of feeding diets containing sunflower and wheat middlings pre-treated with fibre-degrading enzymes were investigated. Based on hatch body weight (BW), 288 Ross-708 male broiler chicks were placed in cages (six birds/cage). Diets were: 1) positive control (PC), a…
Pre-rut behavioural changes in farmed red deer with reference to atmospheric conditions
Red deer (Cervus elaphus) exhibit specific behaviour during the rutting season, which may have an impact on the safety on cervid farms, both due to aggressive interactions between animals and the safety of people staying there, such as staff and…
