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
Influence of a Piriformospora indica plant-specific fungus and clove essence on broiler health and performance parameters during oxidative stress
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary Piriformospora indica (PI) and clove essence (CE) and a combination of them (synbiotic) on performance and biochemical parameters after induction of stress using dexamethasone. The experiment was performed…
The effect of β-carotene and vitamin E on metabolic profiles in nutritionally flushed sheep
This study aimed to investigate the effects of β-carotene and vitamin E on serum biochemistry, body condition score, and the number of offspring in sheep during the flushing period. To this purpose, forty Romanov sheep 45 (±1 kg) body weight…
Crambe cake protein as a replacement for soybean meal protein: Intake, digestibility, and ruminal parameters in lamb diets
The objective was to evaluate different levels of crambe cake protein (0, 250, 500, 750 and 1000 g/kg of DM) to replace soybean meal protein on the intake, apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC), blood glucose, ruminal fermentation, and protozoal population in…
Effect of microRNA, miR-215, on gene expression and metabolism of porcine intestinal epithelial cells
MiR-215 maintains a high level of expression in healthy pig intestine and is decreased in lesions or injuries. To clarify the influence of miR-215 on the porcine intestine, miR-215 mimic/inhibitor was transfected into the intestinal porcine epithelial cell line, J2…
Seasonal effects of Rhus lancea and Celtis africana on intake, preference, and physiological responses in South African indigenous goats
This study investigated the seasonal effects of Rhus lancea and Celtis africana leaves on preference, intake, weight, and serum metabolites in South African indigenous, mature, male goats. Twelve mature, male goats weighing 34 ± 5.9 kg (mean ± SD) were…
Effect of chitosan oligosaccharide and valine on growth, serum hormone levels and meat quality of broilers
Chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) and valine (Val) supplementation will improve growth performance, carcass traits, hormonal profile and meat quality in broilers. To evaluate this hypothesis, based on a 2×4 factorial arrangement, 480 male broilers (Ross 708) were randomly placed in eight…
Effects of guavira fruit (Campomanesia adamantium) peel extract on performance and meat quality of broilers
This article assessed the performance, carcass yield, and meat quality of finishing broilers fed increasing levels of hydroethanolic extract of guavira fruit peel (HEGP) were assessed. A total of 480, three-weeks-old male broilers were randomly allocated to dietary levels of…
Behaviour, welfare, and tibia traits of fast- and slow-growing chickens reared in intensive and free range systems
The behaviour, welfare, and tibia characteristics of fast- and slow-growing chickens were evaluated in free-range and intensive production systems. A total of 720 birds of three strains were subjected to these systems after 21 days of rearing under the same…
Energy manipulation of isonitrogenous diets for broiler chickens
A total of 378 unsexed Anak broiler chicks were used to assess the effects of varying energy levels and manipulation on growth, haematology, and carcass traits. The experiment was conducted in two phases. First, one-day-old chicks were randomly assigned to…
Internal quality of commercial eggs stored under conditions that simulate storage from laying to consumption
This study evaluated the effects on the internal quality of eggs of various storage environments through which eggs may pass between being laid and being consumed. Commercial eggs (N = 648) from Dekalb White hens were used. Treatments consisted of…
Effects of replacing soybean meal with slow-release urea on milk production of Holstein dairy cows
The study investigated the effects of replacing soybean meal (SBM) with slow-release urea (SRU) on milk production, milk composition, and rumen fermentation of Holstein dairy cows. Sixteen Holstein cows weighing between 550 and 680 kg in mid lactation were randomly…
Beta alanine effects immediately pre- and post hatch on chick quality, carcass yield and meat quality in broilers
First, this study aimed to evaluate the effects on hatchability of in ovo supplementation of beta alanine (βA). Second, it assessed the effects on performance, meat quality and serum constituents of broiler chickens of βA injection in ovo and of…
Effects of dietary fibre level on rumen pH, total microbial count and methanogenic archaea in Bonsmara and Nguni steers
A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the level of dietary fibre on rumen pH, total microbial count and methanogenic archaeacount of Bonsmara (225 ± 10.0 kg live weight) and Nguni (215 ± 10.0 kg live weight) steers…
Effect of microbial inoculants on the chemical composition and aerobic stability of Tanzania guinea grass silages
The present study evaluated the effects of microbial inoculants on chemical changes and aerobic stability efficiency in Tanzania guinea grass silage. The treatments consisted of C: silage without inoculant; I: silage inoculated with Lactobacillus plantarum (CCT 0580) 8.0 x 109…
Feather growth, bodyweight and body temperature in broiler lines with different feathering rates
Two early feathering sire lines (B1 and B2), two late feathering dam lines (A1 and A3), and an early feathering dam line were evaluated to determine differences in growth, in lengths of primary feathers, in under-wing and rectal temperatures, and…
Effects of fibre source on nutrient digestibility of diets for finishing lambs
Inexpensive fibre sources might be used as an alternative to lucerne hay in diets for finishing lambs. Thus, effects of providing fibre from lucerne hay (LH), soyhulls (SH), maize stover (MS) and Eragrostis teff hay (ET) on the nutrient digestibility…
True phosphorus digestibility of cottonseed meal and rice husk supplemented with microbial phytase in broiler chickens
his research aimed to determine effects of phytase in cottonseed meal (CM) and rice husk (RH) based diets on true phosphorus digestibility (TPD) by broiler chickens. Two studies were conducted with 576 one-day-old broiler chickens using regression analysis to determine…
Carcass characteristics of immunocastrated steers finished on diets with different energy patterns
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of various dietary energy levels on the carcass and meat characteristics of feedlot-finished steers. A total of 27 purebred and crossbred Charolais and Nellore steers were used, with a mean…
Effect of age of Japanese quail on physical and biochemical characteristics of eggs
The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of age of birds on egg quality in Japanese quail. The eggs were randomly selected from among all eggs laid on the same day when the birds were 15, 23…
Influence of selection for egg production on egg quality traits in Japanese quail
The current study investigated the influence of selection for increased egg production on external and internal egg quality traits over five generations in Japanese quail. A total of 4325 fresh eggs from 1326 females were collected each week during the…
