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
Application of immunocastration in a commercial Dohne Merino ram flock before weaning (Technical note)
The influence of pre-weaning immunocastration on the growth, incidences of reaction to vaccination, serum testosterone concentration and slaughter performance of ram lambs was determined and compared to that of physically castrated lambs. Immunocastration was performed using two doses of 2…
Effects of non-genetic factors on the inter-calving period of Nguni cows in South Africa (Short communication)
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of geographical regions of South Africa on the inter-calving period of Nguni cows. Data of Nguni cows (n = 26 681) from 427 Nguni breeders in the Savannah and the…
Effect of quercetin supplementation on the growth, feed efficiency and serum hormone levels of New Zealand White rabbits
Meat rabbits could provide a new avenue for agricultural development in South Africa, and flavonoids may be able to improve their live performance. This study investigated the effects of quercetin dihydrate (0 and 2 g/kg feed) on the growth parameters…
Effect of quercetin supplementation on the growth, feed efficiency and serum hormone levels of New Zealand White rabbits
Meat rabbits could provide a new avenue for agricultural development in South Africa, and flavonoids may be able to improve their live performance. This study investigated the effects of quercetin dihydrate (0 and 2 g/kg feed) on the growth parameters…
Supranutritional supplementation of vitamin E influences mitochondrial proteome profile of post-mortem longissimus lumborum from feedlot heifers
Supplementation of vitamin E improves beef colour stability by minimizing lipid oxidation-induced myoglobin oxidation. Mitochondria affect myoglobin redox stability, and dietary vitamin E influences mitochondrial functionality in skeletal muscles. Nonetheless, the influence of vitamin E on the mitochondrial proteome of…
Supranutritional supplementation of vitamin E influences mitochondrial proteome profile of post-mortem longissimus lumborum from feedlot heifers
Supplementation of vitamin E improves beef colour stability by minimizing lipid oxidation-induced myoglobin oxidation. Mitochondria affect myoglobin redox stability, and dietary vitamin E influences mitochondrial functionality in skeletal muscles. Nonetheless, the influence of vitamin E on the mitochondrial proteome of…
Effect of natural zeolite on live weight changes, ruminal fermentation and nitrogen metabolism of ewe lambs
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of natural zeolite on the performance and nitrogen metabolism of Rambouillet ewe lambs. Forty Rambouillet ewe lambs with an initial weight of 41.06 ± 3.9 kg were randomly assigned to…
Effect of natural zeolite on live weight changes, ruminal fermentation and nitrogen metabolism of ewe lambs
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of natural zeolite on the performance and nitrogen metabolism of Rambouillet ewe lambs. Forty Rambouillet ewe lambs with an initial weight of 41.06 ± 3.9 kg were randomly assigned to…
Palm kernel expellers as an alternative ingredient in growing pig diets
This study evaluated the effects of palm kernel expellers in growing diets on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and carcass and meat quality characteristics of growing-finishing pigs. A total of 88 growing pigs were randomly assigned to two dietary treatment groups…
Dead-in-shell positions of near-term ostrich embryos
The patterns of embryonic development in ostriches, especially in the last stage of hatching, are still not well understood. This study examined between 3468 and 3484 dead-in-shell (DIS) eggs with chicks that died between day 35 and day 42 of…
Relationship between feed characteristics and histomorphometry of small intestines of growing pigs
The use of agricultural by-products has become the central focus in reducing feed costs in pig production. However, there is a need to determine how the gastrointestinal tract of pigs responds when subjected to fibrous ingredients. The objective of the…
Evaluation of various feeding programmes on growth performance, carcass and meat qualities of Thai indigenous crossbred chickens
This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of various feeding programmes on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and the meat qualities of Thai indigenous crossbred (50%) Korat chickens to obtain suitable feeding programmes. A total of 480 one-day-old mixed-sex Korat…
Effect of days in feedlot on growth performance and carcass characteristics of Merino, South African Mutton Merino and Dorper lambs
This study investigated the effect of feedlot production on lamb growth characteristics of three common South African breeds: Merino, South African Mutton Merino (SAMM) and Dorper. Lambs were supplied with a balanced diet (16% crude protein, 9.41 MJ ME/kg feed)…
Electroencephalographic responses to neck cut and exsanguination in minimally anaesthetized goats
Conscious animals typically experience sensory (nociception) and emotional pain, whereas unconscious animals that were minimally anesthetized would experience minimal emotional pain. To determine whether ‘silencing’ the emotional component through a minimally anesthetized model would minimize stress response, and thus improve…
Coefficient of standardized total tract digestibility of phosphorus in oilseed meals and distillers dried grains in growing-finishing pigs
This study was conducted to determine the coefficient of total tract standardized digestibility (CTTSD) of phosphorus (P) in oilseed meals and distillers dried grains (DDG) fed to growing-finishing pigs. Twelve barrows (initial bodyweight (BW) ± standard deviation, 52.25 ± 2.57…
Viability of bull semen extended with commercial semen extender and two culture media stored at 24 °C
The aim of this study was to evaluate the viability of bull spermatozoa diluted with commercial semen extender and two culture media stored at controlled room temperature (24 °C) for 72 hours. Two Nguni bulls were used for semen collection…
Isolation of total ribonucleic acid from fresh and frozen-thawed boar semen and its relevance in transcriptome studies (Short communication)
The main objective of this study was to isolate high-quality total ribonucleic acid (RNA) from raw fresh semen and frozen-thawed boar semen, using a protocol comprising the conventional TRIzol assay and a membrane-based technique, the PureLink RNA mini kit. Bioanalyzer…
Partial replacement of commercial soybean meal with raw, full-fat soybean meal supplemented with varying levels of protease in diets of broiler chickens
A 3 * 3 factorial study was used to evaluate the feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of broilers fed on the test diets. The commercial soybean meal (SBM) was replaced by raw, full-fat…
Genetic polymorphism of CSN1S2 in South African dairy goat populations
Alpha-s2 casein has a significant influence on protein content in goat milk, and the technological properties important for cheese processing. Specific alleles (A, B, C, E and F) of the alpha (α)s2-casein gene (CSN1S2) result in higher protein, casein and…
