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
Research and development on climate change and greenhouse gases in support of climate-smart livestock production and a vibrant industry (Invited paper)
Climate change represents a feedback-loop in which livestock production both contributes to the problem and suffers from the consequences. The impact of global warming and continued, uncontrolled release of greenhouse gasses (GHG) has twofold implications for the livestock industry, and…
Sustainable crossbreeding systems of beef cattle in the era of climate change
Beef cattle are unique, because they not only suffer from climate change, but they also contribute to climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). Mitigation and adaptation strategies are therefore needed. An effective way to reduce the carbon…
Methane production in different breeds, grazing different pastures or fed a total mixed ration, as measured by a Laser Methane Detector
Agriculture is responsible for 5% to 10% of the global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Livestock contribute about 65% of agricultural GHG and enteric fermentation accounts for 90% of this. The global warming potential of CH4 is known to be…
Antagonism in the carbon footprint between beef and dairy production systems
Primary beef cattle farming in South Africa is largely extensive, whereas dairy farming is based on both total mixed ration and pasture production systems. Under natural rangeland conditions, decomposition of manure is aerobic, which produces carbon dioxide (CO2), part of…
Milk production of dairy cows as affected by the length of the preceding dry period
The objective of the study was to determine the effect of the duration of the dry period (DP) on the milk yield and milk composition during the following lactation. Milk performance records of 561 Holstein cows, with a previous DP…
The effect of lucerne (Medicago sativa) hay quality on milk production and composition of Jersey cows
The influence of lucerne hay quality on the milk production potential and milk composition of Jersey cows was investigated. Three different grades of lucerne hay (Prime, Grade 1, Grade 2; selected according to the New Lucerne Quality Index) were included…
The profitability and production of a beef herd on transitional Cymbopogon- Themeda veld, receiving three different levels of lick supplementation – Preliminary results
The importance of containing costs through the optimal utilization of feed emphasizes the need to optimize, rather than maximize, the rate of reproduction. It is, however, unknown which lick supplementation regimen, provided to an extensive beef herd on mixed veld,…
The effect of dietary lipid saturation and antioxidant type on the performance of finishing lambs
The effect on production performance of a synthetic or natural antioxidant and lipid saturation in the finishing diets of lambs was investigated. The four dietary treatments consisted of the same basal diet (187 g CP, 355 g NDF, and 71…
The influence of the inside diameter of the coring probe on the chemical composition of lucerne hay samples
The obtaining of a representative sample is crucial for the application of an accurate and uniform lucerne hay grading system in South Africa. There is currently limited data available on the effect of the inside diameter of the coring probe…
The effect of dietary lipid sources on layer fertility and hatchability
This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary fatty acids (FA) on the fertility and hatchability of laying hens at the end-of-lay period (69 - 77 weeks of age). Five isoenergetic (12.4 MJ ME/kg DM) and isonitrogenous (170…
The effect of different dietary vitamin and mineral levels on certain production parameters, including egg shell characteristics of breeding ostriches
Earlier studies on breeding birds indicated no effect of dietary energy-content on feed intake. This observation is contradictory to results for other animals and/or poultry where feed intake decreases with an increase in dietary energy level. Literature revealed that a…
Influence of electrical stimulation on carcass and meat quality of Kosher and conventionally slaughtered cattle
In a previous study regarding the effects of Kosher and conventional slaughter techniques on carcass and meat quality of cattle, it was speculated that electrical stimulation may have affected some of the meat qualities. Therefore, the objective of this study…
Conception rate and fecundity of Dohne Merino ewes in a continuous mating system
A study was conducted to evaluate the conception rate and fecundity of Dohne Merino ewes in an intensive sheep production system, where continuous mating was applied. The study was conducted at the Kromme Rhee research farm. Ninety-two 3-year-old Dohne Merino…
Reproduction performance of beef cattle mated naturally following synchronization in the Central Bushveld bioregion of South Africa
The estimated calving percentage of beef cattle is 62% in the commercial sector of South Africa. Fertility is regarded as the main component influencing total herd efficiency in beef cattle. If the long calving seasons can be shortened and the…
A preliminary investigation into genotype x environment interaction in South African Holstein cattle for reproduction and production traits
The purpose of the study was to investigate a possible genotype by environment interaction in first calf South African Holstein cows for both production and reproduction traits. Data from 100 975 cows on a total mixed ration (TMR) and 22…
Genetic diversity in selected stud and commercial herds of the Afrikaner cattle breed
The Afrikaner is one of three indigenous cattle breeds found in South Africa. Afrikaner cattle were originally extensively used for crossbreeding purposes and breed development. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic diversity of selected stud and…
Evaluation of cytoplasmic genetic effects for production and reproduction traits in Afrikaner cattle
The influence of cytoplasmic effects on weaning weight (WW) and age at first calving (AFC) were investigated in the South African Afrikaner beef breed. A total of 14 535 AFC records (1974 - 2008) and 68 152 WW records (1974…
A review of genomic selection – Implications for the South African beef and dairy cattle industries
The major advancements in molecular technology over the past decades led to the discovery of DNA-markers, sequencing and genome mapping of farm animal species. New avenues were created for identifying major genes, genetic defects, quantitative trait loci (QTL) and ultimately…
Estimates of variance components for postweaning feed intake and growth in Bonsmara bulls and evaluation of alternative measures of feed efficiency
Feed efficiency is of major economic importance in beef production. The objective of this work was to evaluate alternative measures of feed efficiency for use in genetic evaluation. To meet this objective, genetic parameters were estimated for the components of…
Effect of dietary protein on performance of four broiler strains and on the allometric relationships between carcass portions and body protein
This is the second paper in a series that reports the allometric relationships between some of the physical parts and body protein weight of commercial broiler strains reared, sexes separate, on different dietary protein levels. In this trial, four commercial…
