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
Effects of oregano essential oil and capsicum extract on fattening, serum constituents, and rumen fermentation of lambs
This study investigated dietary supplementation of weaned lambs with Origanum vulgare essential oil and Capsicum oleoresin (chilli pepper) extract. Thirty-six eight-week-old male and female Menemen lambs were used in this study. Three dietary treatment groups consisted of T1, an unsupplemented…
Effects of different feeding methods on neuropeptide nesfatin-1 and irisin in turkeys
In this study, the effects of different methods of feeding turkeys on the neuropeptide nesfatin-1 and the hormone irisin were evaluated. A total of 90 turkeys were distributed to three treatment groups, namely T1: conventional system, T2: 50% feed and…
Factors affecting In vitro methane production from cecum contents of White Roman geese
The goal of this research was to gain understanding of in vitro methane (CH4) production from the cecal contents of White Roman geese under various incubation conditions. Five experiments were conducted to ascertain the effects of i) incubation time, ii)…
Ovarian dynamics, hormone profiles, and characterization of ovarian and uterine blood flow in cycling Sahiwal cows
The objectives were to investigate the ovarian dynamics and hormonal profiles during the oestrus cycle, and to characterize the ovarian and uterine blood flow (OBF versus UBF) indices on the extent of vascular perfusion towards the dominant follicle (DF) or…
Effects of ventilation programme and eggshell thickness on hatchability rate and hatching time of broiler eggs
The aim of the research was to determine whether enrichment of the atmosphere in an incubator with carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2) and eggshell thickness (EST) affected embryonic death (ED), hatchability of fertile eggs (HFE) and hatching time (HT)…
Fatty acid profile and in vitro rumen fermentation characteristics of maize silage augmented with canola silage
The objective was to investigate the effect of replacing maize silage (MS) with canola silage (CS) on the chemical composition and fatty acid (FA) profile of total mixed rations (TMR) containing these silages, and on in vitro rumen fermentation and…
Effect of mentha on performance, haematological and biochemical parameters in laying hens
Effects of Mentha piperita (peppermint) extract and juice on performance and immune parameters were evaluated in laying hens. A total of 252 Babcock laying hens were allocated to seven treatments with four replications of nine hens. The control hens were…
Carcass characteristics and meat quality of sheep fed buffelgrass silage to replace corn silage
The aim of the study was to evaluate the carcass characteristics, proximate composition, and sensorial attributes of meat from sheep fed diets in which buffelgrass silage replaced corn silage. Thirty-two intact male crossbred Santa Inês sheep with an average live…
Traceability to ensure food safety and consumer protection as typified by case studies of three meat processing plants
Ensuring food safety is a legal obligation of the manufacturer or of the entity that places the product on sale. Traceability is one of the tools that are used to ensure food safety. It allows the withdrawal of a dangerous…
Effects of production system and feeding regimen on carcass and meat quality traits of Naked Neck chicken
To evaluate the effect of a production system and feeding regimen on meat quality attributes of Naked Neck chickens, a total of 150 cockerels at 18 weeks old (1625 ± 70 g) were collected from 10 treatment groups with five…
Inclusion of rapeseed and pumpkin seed cakes in diets for Murciano-Granadina goats alters the fatty acid profile of milk
The objective of this research was to assess the effects of including oil-rich feedstuffs in diets for lactating goats on the fatty acid (FA) profile of their milk. Thirty-six Murciano-Granadina goats were randomly assigned to three treatment groups, namely a…
Effects of garlic supplementation on in vitro nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and gas production
Garlic contains secondary metabolites with antimicrobial properties that can alter nutrient digestibility and rumen fermentation, similar to other antimicrobial products. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effects of garlic powder and garlic juice on in vitro nutrient…
Laying hens behave as omnivores with poultry meal included in their diet
This study was conducted to determine egg yield performance and quality, animal partiality to poultry meal, and consumer preferences for eggs produced by various feeding methods. A total of 72 Nick Brown laying hens, aged 22 weeks, were offered three…
Pelleting increases the metabolizable energy of de-hulled sunflower seed meal for broilers
The study examined the effects of two methods of processing de-hulled sunflower seed meal (SFM) from the same batch of sunflower seeds. Sunflower seed meal was fed to broilers as meal (MSFM) or after it had been pelleted (PSFM) at…
A review of artisanal cheese making: An African perspective
Artisanal cheeses and other fermented milk products have long been part of the diet of African rural communities. Cheese is a source of nutrients that are essential to the development and growth of children in rural areas, where intake of…
Modelling lactation curves for fat-to-protein ratio of milk in the first three lactations of Polish Holstein-Friesian cows
Among milk traits, fat-to-protein ratio (FPR) is considered a potential measure of a cow’s energy status and is one of the selection criteria necessary to improve metabolic stability. Further genetic analyses require an appropriate model that describes the pattern of…
Evaluation of high-concentrate diets that vary in physically effective neutral detergent fibre for finishing lambs
The objective of this research was to evaluate lamb diets with a high proportion of concentrate and various levels of physically effective neutral detergent fibre (NDF) using tropical ingredients. Four diets were formulated: D1 with 16.5% physically effective NDF (peNDF),…
Meta-analysis of relationship between weaning age and daily weight gain of piglets in the farrowing and nursery phases
A systematic review of the literature was carried out to perform a meta-analysis to assess effects of age at weaning on the performance of piglets in the range of 14 to 42 days old. This step consisted in defining the…
Effects of feeding system and pre-partum supplementation on the β-carotene status of South African Holstein cows
The objectives were to investigate the β-carotene status of dairy cows under various production systems, and to determine the effect of pre-partum β-carotene supplementation on their post-partum β-carotene status. Ten farms were selected from each of the three production systems,…
Genetic effects on growth and egg production traits in two-way crosses of Egyptian and commercial layer chickens
A crossbreeding experiment was conducted between the Sinai (SI), an indigenous Egyptian strain, and the exotic Lohmann Brown (LB) breeds of chickens. A total of 790 chicks were produced in four genetic groups, namely SI x SI, LB x LB,…
