The South African Journal of Animal Science is an open access journal. The journal publishes reports of research dealing with production of farmed animal species (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, poultry and ostriches), as well as pertinent aspects of research on aquatic and wildlife species. All submitted articles are subjected to a single-blind peer review process that is managed by a sub-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.
The South African Journal of Animal Science makes use of an Online Journal Management System that was developed in collaboration with the Agricultural Research Council to facilitate the manuscript submission and review process. Authors are kindly requested to submit all articles for publication in the South African Journal of Animal Science via the Online Journal Management system.
If you experience any problems with the system, please contact the editor-in-chief at [email protected].
Clarivate Journal Impact Factor (2023): 0.7
Clarivate Journal Citation Indicator (2023): 0.32
Scopus CiteScore (2023): 1.5
The effect of Ulva lactuca on in vitro ruminal gas production kinetics
The aim of this study was to determine whether the inclusion of a marine algae found in South African waters, Ulva lactuca, can reduce total gas and methane production in vitro when it replaces lucerne hay in a mixed sheep…
Assessing parallel testing to improve detection of bovine tuberculosis at a slaughterhouse in Lahore, Pakistan
The current study was designed to evaluate the reliability of the interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) as a screening test compared to intensive post-mortem inspection using agreement analyses. This study also aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of bovine…
Vaccination strategies to curb environmental spread of Porcine Circovirus 2
Integrated farming is an established agricultural practice aimed at increasing productivity per unit area by utilizing animal manure. However, there has been a growing concern regarding swine manure's potential as a disseminator of pathogens in the environment. Among these pathogens…
Bacillus-based probiotics on broiler chicken performance under coccidiosis and Clostridium perfringens challenge
The study analyzed the impacts of two probiotics (Ecobiol® and GutCare®) on growth performance, carcass and cut yields, intestinal morphometry and lesion score, biochemical parameters, and short-chain fatty acid concentration in chickens using a challenge model combining coccidiosis vaccine and…
Broiler performance on maize (Zea mays)–cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) diets fortified with black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae meal
Effects of incorporating full-fat Black Soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae meal (BSFLM) in 4-d sprouted cowpea-based grower and finisher broiler diets were evaluated in broilers. Chicks were raised in an open deep litter facility; 360 Ross 308 chicks started (0–21…
Effect of pipping rate and hatching nature on the development of ostrich chicks
High embryonic mortality is concerning because of the effect on commercial ostrich farming. The number of viable chicks can be improved by appropriate interventions in the hatching chicks. Data from 2 683 fertile eggs were collected from the commercial, pair-bred…
Polymorphism of the callipyge gene in the Esme sheep breed
Mutation of the candidate gene, callipyge (CLPG), causes muscular hypertrophy, primarily in the pelvic and hind limbs, and therefore has a major impact on sheep development and quality. Finding the CLPG gene polymorphism in the Esme sheep breed was the…
Effects of sprouted sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) diets fortified with exogenous enzymes on egg production in Red and White Amberlink layers
The aim was to evaluate the effects on egg production of feeding raw versus sprouted sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)–soybean (Glycine max) oil cake diets fortified with exogenous enzymes to red and white Amberlink layers (16 w in production). Birds were stocked…
Effects of Broussonetia papyrifera leaf extract on the immunity and gut microflora of cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed mice
This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of Broussonetia papyrifera leaf water extract on the immunity and gut microflora of cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed mice. Forty female ICR mice were randomly divided into five groups (n = 8) as follows: the…
Production performance of broiler chickens fed mash and pelleted pearl millet-based diets
This study investigated the production performance of broiler chickens (Cobb-500) fed on mash and pelleted pearl millet-based diets. A completely randomised experimental design with a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments was used. Two feed processing methods (grinding and…
The effect of dietary non-protein nitrogen content on the performance of finishing lambs
The effect of increasing non-protein nitrogen content on nutrient digestibility, performance, and carcass characteristics of South African Mutton Merino wether lambs on low-fibre finishing diets containing similar degradable protein was investigated. The production and digestibility studies consisted of 60 and…
Effects of udder characteristics on milk yield and milk quality in Eşme sheep
The current study was conducted on 38 sheep in a private enterprise engaged in the breeding of Eşme sheep in Uşak province, and measurements were taken on the 30th and 60th days of lactation. Sheep were classified according to udder…
Influence of dietary protein content on serum biochemical profiles of growing Windsnyer pigs
The response in the concentration of nutritionally-related blood metabolites to decremental dietary protein contents was evaluated in growing Windsnyer pigs. A total of thirty, healthy, Windsnyer indigenous pigs weighing 23 ± 0.62 kg were randomly allocated into individual pens in…
Non-genetic sources of variation influencing yield and composition of milk production parameters in South African Saanen goats
This study tested the importance of non-genetic effects on average lactation performance in yields of milk, fat, protein, and lactose; urea concentration; persistency; somatic cell count; net returns; as well as estimated phenotypic relationships between dam kidding age and these…
Broiler response to variable rates of inclusion of calcium and non-phytate phosphorus in feed
A trial was conducted to investigate the response of broilers to changing levels of calcium and non-phytate phosphorus. A total of 1344 chicks were allocated to 96 cages in a controlled-environment house. Limestone and phosphoric acid were added to a…
Research Note: Do broiler breeder hens use hypothermia to cope with cold environments and feed restriction?
The deep body temperature (Tb) of broiler breeder hens was measured in a pilot trial conducted as part of an experiment in which the response of the birds to dietary protein was evaluated at different cyclical air temperatures (Ta). Temperature…
The response of growing pigs to dietary protein
The response of growing pigs to a range of dietary protein contents was both simulated and measured over a 12-w period from 74 d of age. Six dietary protein concentrations of 0.7 to 1.2-times the TOPIGS recommended levels were used…
Effects of STAT5B and BMPR-1B genes on growth and production traits in Red Jungle Fowl, Fayoumi, Hilly chickens, and their crossbreeds
This study explored the genome sequence, genetic diversity, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the STAT5B and BMPR-1B genes, and their association across Red Jungle Fowl (RJF), Fayoumi (Fay), and Hilly chickens, as well as in Hilly Reddish Brown (RB)…
Effects of the dietary supplementation of a native probiotic on the blood metabolites, gut parameters, and meat quality of growing lambs
This study aimed to compare the efficacy of a native probiotic (indigenously produced Saccharomyces cerevisiae) with that of commercial S. cerevisiae in terms of the effects on blood metabolites, gut histology, the expression of genes related to the ruminal epithelium,…
Short communication: Impact of rest intervals and habituation on electro-ejaculated semen quality in merino-type rams
This study evaluated the effects of habituation and electro-ejaculation techniques on semen quality in merino-type rams in South Africa, aiming to refine the electro-ejaculation method to improve semen quality. Parameters assessed included semen volume, sperm motility, sperm viability, sperm concentration,…
