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
Including protein yield and mastitis resistance in dairy cattle breeding goal optimizes response to selection
Selection response from a two-tier nucleus breeding scheme using the current Kenyan breeding goal was compared with an alternative that also accounts for protein yield (PY) and mastitis resistance (MR). The economic value for PY was estimated using a bio-economic…
Influence of feeding systems on selected beef quality and sensory attributes
Feeding systems and other factors associated with processing influence meat quality, and therefore sensory attributes. This study was conducted to assess the meat quality attributes of young grain-fed and older grass-fed steers that mostly affect consumer acceptability of beef. Eighty…
Effects of exogenous tannase enzyme on growth performance, antioxidant status, immune response, gut morphology and intestinal microflora of chicks fed grape pomace
An experiment was conducted to study the effects of dietary addition of tannase to feed of chicks including grape pomace (GP) on growth performance, antioxidant status, immune response, blood parameters, gut morphology, intestinal microflora, liver function, and histopathological responses. The…
Meat quality of weaner steers adapted to a diet containing potassium humate in the feedlot
The objective of the study was to determine the meat quality responses of weaner steers fed diets containing potassium humate (PH) in a feedlot. Twenty-two yearling male steers were randomly allocated to two treatments: control (n = 11), fed a…
Relationship of ewe reproduction with subjectively assessed wool and conformation traits in the Elsenburg Merino flock
Subjectively assessed wool and conformation traits are widely used to select breeding ewes and rams in the sheep industry. Data from a Merino flock that is maintained at Elsenburg Research Farm were used to investigate animal model (co)variance components for…
Effects of inulin, carrot and cellulose fibres on the properties of raw and fried chicken meatballs
The effects of inulin, carrot, and cellulose fibres (3%, 6%, and 9%) on raw and fried chicken meatballs were studied. Meatball pH, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and colour values were determined for raw samples in refrigerated storage on the…
Comparison of greenhouse gas emissions from Mexican intensive dairy farms
The objectives of this study were to compare estimates of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) as CH4 (enteric-manure), N2O (manure), and CO2 (fuel and energy use), the use of water and soil, the excretion of nutrients in manure, and feed efficiency…
Altered tissue mineralization, increased hepatic lipid and inhibited autophagy in intrauterine growth retardation piglets
Mineral homeostasis is often disrupted in intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) infants. Most studies focus on calcium or phosphorus metabolism of IUGR infants via determining serum mineral concentrations instead of tissues. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of IUGR…
Effects of supplemental seminal plasma on cryopreserved boar sperm quality (Short communication)
To analyse the effects of supplemental autologous seminal plasma on boar semen quality before freezing and after thawing, thirty ejaculates were collected from six Pietrain boars. The main factors of a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments…
Effects of short and extended fasting periods and cattle breed on glycogenolysis, sarcomere shortening and Warner-Bratzler shear force
The effects of short (three hours) and extended (24 hours) feed withdrawal periods and three cattle breeds on muscle energy metabolism, sarcomere length, and meat quality were investigated. Brahman (Br), Nguni (Ng), and Simmental (Sm) bulls were subjected to ante-mortem…
A nutritional and economic evaluation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal as a dietary supplement in West African Dwarf goats
Moringa oleifera leaves may have the potential to enhance nutritional status, growth performance, and health of ruminant animals when used as part of their diets. However, the nutritional value of the leaves for goats is largely unknown and needs to…
Expression of ovine ubiquitin C-terminal hydroxylase 1, pH and colour of variety meats from head-stunned Dohne Merino sheep
Ubiquitin C-terminal hydroxylase (UCH-L1) has been identified in few transcriptome studies as a biomarker coding for trauma and perception of pain in non-meat species. For the first time, real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay was used to quantitate the expression…
Effect of feeding duration of Spirulina platensis on growth performance, haematological parameters, intestinal microbial population and carcass traits of broiler chicks
Spirulina platensis is a good candidate as an in-feed antibiotics substitute for broilers. However, its use seems impractical owing to its high price, especially when being administered throughout the whole rearing period. This study aimed to investigate the effects of…
Optimization of in vitro culture and transfection condition of bovine primary spermatogonial stem cells
The present study aimed to optimize the in vitro culture and transfection efficiency of bovine primary spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). To this end, SSCs were obtained from newborn Holstein bull calves by two-step enzymatic digestion. After enrichment and culture, SSCs…
Assessment of genetic variation among four populations of Small East African goats using microsatellite markers
The majority of goats in Tanzania belong to the Small East African (SEA) breed, which exhibits large phenotypic variation. This study aimed to determine the genetic structure of, and relationships among four populations (Sukuma, Gogo, Sonjo, and Pare) of the…
Genetic diversity in Zimbabwean Sanga cattle breeds using microsatellite markers
Zimbabwe’s smallholder land-based livelihoods are dominated by the three local Sanga cattle breeds, namely Mashona, Tuli, and Nkone. A study was carried out to determine genetic diversity and differentiation among conservation populations of these breeds using 16 bovine-specific microsatellite markers…
Effects of chitosan addition on growth performance, diarrhoea, anti-oxidative function and serum immune parameters of weaned piglets
The present experiment was designed to determine the efficacy of a commercial source of chitosan (CS) to enhance performance, anti-oxidative function, and immune response in weaned pigs. A total of 60 crossbreed piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire), with average…
Effects of sesame meal on intake, digestibility, rumen characteristics, chewing activity and growth of lambs
Two experiments were carried out to determine ruminal degradability of sesame meal (SSM) and its effects on intake, digestibility, rumen parameters, chewing activity, and lamb performance when it replaced soybean meal (SBM). Degradability of dry matter (DM) and crude protein…
The influence of different dietary energy concentrations on the production parameters of feedlot ostriches
Energy is essential for the continuous survival of any living organism. In ostrich diets, energy is usually derived from maize, which is often subject to fluctuations in yield as a result of drought conditions. Therefore, the optimal utilization of energy…
