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
A whole farm model for quantifying total greenhouse gas emissions on South African dairy farms
This paper presents a model to quantify total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dairy farms. The model, which is based on a whole farm management approach, accounts for the variability that occurs in GHG emissions among farm production and management…
Potential of oak acorn with and without polyethylene glycol as an alternative to corn in broiler diets
This study was conducted to investigate the potential for replacing corn with oak acorn (OA), a tannin-rich feedstuff, and the possible role of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in reducing detrimental effects of OA on broilers. A 3 × 2 factorial arrangement…
Effects of dietary Aloe vera crude extracts on digestive enzyme activities and muscle proximate composition of GIFT tilapia juveniles
This study investigated the effects of dietary Aloe vera powder extract on the activities of digestive enzymes and muscle composition of Oreochromis niloticus (GIFT strain) juveniles. Five dietary groups were formulated in which A. vera powder was added into a…
Humic acid and enzymes in canola-based broiler diets: Effects on bone development, intestinal histomorphology and immune development
The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of dietary inclusion of humic acid and enzymes on bone development, histomorphology of internal organs and the incidence of rickets in broiler chickens fed canola-based diets. In the study, Cobb…
Exogenous carbohydrases do not improve the physiological and meat quality parameters of female Japanese quail fed canola-based diets
In an internally controlled environment, a feeding trial using 210 six-week-old female Japanese quail (189.63 ± 11.891 g liveweight) was conducted to evaluate the effect of carbohydrase-treated (endo-1.4-beta-xylanase 5600 TXU/g and endo-1.4-beta-glucanase 2500 TGU/g) canola-based diets on growth performance, haemo-biochemical…
Genomic study of the mammary gland in bovines acclimated to a tropical environment
This study aims at examining the expression of genes on the mammary gland, corresponding to various levels of adaptation or acclimatization to environmental stress. The authors utilized 18 cows from three genetic groups, Holstein Brazil (HB), Gyr (GG) and Gyrolando…
Effects of glucose oxidase on the growth performance, serum parameters and faecal microflora of piglets
The experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of diets supplemented with glucose oxidase (GOD) on growth performance, serum parameters and faecal microflora of piglets. One hundred and twelve piglets (35 days old) were randomly assigned to two groups (four…
Ensiling quality of maize as influenced by the addition of wet distillers grains with soluble
Wet distillers grains with soluble (WDGS) were blended with whole maize plants on an as-fed basis at 0%, 20%, 30%, and 40% and ensiled in 3 L bottles to evaluate the silage fermentation characteristics and ensiling quality in a complete…
Age, lighting treatment, feed allocation and feed form influence broiler breeder feeding time
During a broiler breeder trial with 3200 Cobb 500 hens, the effects of lighting treatment after 20 weeks’ feed allocation and of feed form on the length of time taken to consume the daily allocation of feed were measured. Pullets…
Effects of dietary inclusion of discarded cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) on the growth performance of South African Dorper lambs
A study was conducted to determine the effect of dietary inclusion of discarded cabbage (DC) on the intake and growth performance of lambs. Diets containing 0 (control, DC0), 100 g DC/kg (DC100), 150 g DC/kg (DC150) and 200 g DC/kg…
Effects of dietary oil sources and calcium : phosphorus levels on growth performance, gut morphology and apparent digestibility of broiler chickens
The study investigated the effects of varying dietary calcium (Ca) levels and sources of oil on performance of broiler chickens. A total of 378 one-day-old birds were fed 6% palm oil (PO), soybean oil (SO) or linseed oil (LO) in…
Microsatellite-based estimation of inbreeding level in sheep populations of small effective size
In sheep populations with small effective population sizes (Ne), inbreeding is a major concern because genetic variation has to be maintained. A panel of 28 microsatellite markers was used to measure the inbreeding level in three separate Merino flocks bred…
The effects of various dietary vegetable oil sources on villi morphologyand liver aldehydes in young layers
Twenty-six-week-old laying hens (90 Lohmann Classic Brown) received dietary treatments containing canola and linseed oil at 2% inclusion levels and a control diet for 21 days. The 2% dietary linseed oil, which had higher total polyunsaturated fatty acids (ΣPUFA) and…
Production performance of pigs reared in different systems and fed increased energy content diets with or without green alfalfa
The objective of this study was to determine the effects of various feeding and housing systems on fattening performance, slaughter value and biochemical serum parameters in growing-finishing pigs. The experimental material comprised 90 growing-finishing pigs, divided into six groups of…
Effects of oregano essential oil and attapulgite on growth performance, intestinal microbiota and morphometry in broilers
Two experiments were conducted to study the effects of a blend of oregano essential oil (OEO) (as a source of natural antibacterial growth-promoting substances) and attapulgite (as a source of toxin-binder and as an antidiarrhoeal agent) on growth performance, intestinal…
Evaluation of the OvineSNP50 chip for use in four South African sheep breeds (Short communication)
Relatively rapid and cost-effective genotyping using the OvineSNP50 chip holds great promise for the South African sheep industry and research partners. However, SNP ascertainment bias may influence inferences from the genotyping results of South African sheep breeds. Therefore, samples from…
Spirulina as a functional ingredient in broiler chicken diets
In recent years there has been increased interest in the production of novel functional foods by utilizing eco-friendly materials and methods. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to determine the effects of dietary spirulina (Spirulina platensis), a blue-green microalga, on…
Dietary effects of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) and black cumin (Nigella sativa) seed on growth performance, serum lipid profile and intestinal microflora of broiler chicks
The study was conducted to investigate the effects of different levels of buckwheat seed (BWS) with black cumin seed (BCS) supplementation on the performance, serum lipid profile and intestinal bacterial flora in broiler chicks. One hundred and twenty day-old Cobb-500…
Effects of whey, molasses and exogenous enzymes on the ensiling characteristics, nutrient composition and aerobic stability of maize cobs
The study was conducted to assess the effects of whey, molasses and exogenous enzymes on fermentation, aerobic stability and nutrient composition of ensiled maize cobs. Five treatments were ensiled in 1.5 L anaerobic glass jars over 32 days, namely i)…
Fermentation products of Cordyceps militaris enhance performance and modulate immune response of weaned piglets
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of supplementation of Cordyceps militaris fermentation products (CMF) on growth performance and immunocompetence of piglets. The study involved three groups of animals, which were supplemented with CMF (500, 1000 and…
