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
Performance and egg quality of aged laying hens fed diets supplemented with meat and bone meal or oyster shell meal
Meat and bone meal (MBM) and oyster shell meal (OSM) were supplemented to a basal diet (LMS), either alone or in combination, in order to assess the dietary influences of those complementary Ca sources on performance and egg quality of…
Animal factors affecting fatty acid composition of cow milk fat: A review
The review summarizes literature dealing with the effects of animal factors (breed, cow individuality, parity and stage of lactation) on fatty acid (FA) composition of milk fat. Genetic parameters affecting the composition of the FAs in milk are reviewed and…
Fatty acid profile and cholesterol content of m. longissimus of free-range and conventionally reared Mangalitsa pigs
This study investigated the effects of different feeding systems (free-range versus conventional rearing) on carcass characteristics, chemical composition, fatty acid profile and cholesterol content of the musculus longissimus lumborum et thoracis (MLLT) of Mangalitsa pigs. Depending on the rearing system…
Pedigree analysis of an ostrich breeding flock
Pedigree records, maintained from 1978 to 2005 at the Oudtshoorn Research Farm, South Africa, of 40 074 birds of a pair-breeding ostrich flock were used to estimate the effective number of founders (fe), the effective number of ancestors (fa), the…
Foster parenting, human imprinting and conventional handling affects survival and early weight of ostrich chicks
The effects of human imprinting and foster parenting by adult ostriches on the survival and growth performance of ostrich chicks were compared to conventional chick-rearing practices in two separate experiments. In the first experiment, the growth rate and survival of…
Effects of a novel carbohydrate fraction on broiler performance and intestinal function
This study was performed to determine the effects of a natural yeast-based feed ingredient (natural carbohydrate fraction (NCF) isolated from a specific strain of yeast) on broiler chickens, and to examine its mode of action. The trial was set up…
Effect of in ovo injection with L-arginine on productive and physiological traits of Japanese quail
This study evaluated the influence of administering different levels of L-arginine into eggs of 0-day-old Japanese quail embryos. On day 0 of incubation, 480 eggs (120 for each treatment group) were injected with 0% arginine (C group), 1% arginine (T1),…
Genetic analysis of body weight in South African Angora kids and young goats
The data used for this study consisted of 27 485 kid records, the progeny of 599 sires and 10 077 dams, and were collected on the 2000- to 2009-born kids of 11 Angora goat studs. Variance and covariance components and…
Genetic variation within and among three ostrich breeds, estimated by using microsatellite markers
Genetic diversity within and among three ostrich populations was investigated to corroborate whether these populations can be classified genetically as three different breeds. The DNA of South African Black (SAB, n = 30), Zimbabwean Blue (ZB, n = 32) and…
Effect of forage sources and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sc 47) on ruminal fermentation parameters (Short communication)
Diet composition has been suggested as a factor that influences the variability of responses when Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) is fed to ruminant animals. Diets based on lucerne hay (462 g/kg DM) and maize silage (488 g/kg DM) were fed to…
Withdrawal or reduction of the dietary vitamin premix on bone parameters of broiler chickens in two rearing systems
This study was conducted to compare the withdrawal or reduction of the vitamin premix (VP) from broiler diets at between days 29 and 42 of age on the characteristics of leg bones of the broilers in a battery cage (Trial…
Effects of different penning conditions, feeding regimens and season on growth and carcass attributes of boars of a selected gen
The study tested the performance of intact male pigs from a selected genetic line subjected to differing feeding regimens and penning conditions. The trial was a 2 x 3 x 2 x 3 factorial design, consisting of winter and summer…
Effect of water treatment of sorghum on the performance of broiler chicks (Short communication)
The present study was conducted to observe the efficacy of water treatment on sorghum grain and to determine its optimum inclusion in broiler diets. Sorghum grain was treated with water and dried. Seven isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets were prepared, using…
Megasphaera elsdenii on the performance of steers adapting to a high-concentrate diet, using three or five transition diets (Sho
Megasphaera elsdenii (M.e.) NCIMB 41125 is a robust lactate utilizing strain of M.e. that is effective in minimizing the risk of ruminal acidosis in feedlot cattle. When dosed orally, cattle adapt smoothly to increasing concentrates in the diet, the incidence…
Effect of dietary starch source on milk production and composition of lactating Holstein cows
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of four sources of starch on milk production and composition, nutrient digestion and blood metabolites of lactating Holstein cows. Four multiparous Holstein cows (708 ± 70 kg of body weight;…
In ovo feeding of carbohydrates and incubated at a high incubation temperature on hatchability and glycogen status of chicks
Eggs from a meat-type breeder flock at 29 and 35 weeks of age were used in two trials to investigate the effects of in ovo vfeeding of carbohydrates (CHO) and high incubation temperature (37.5 vs. 38.5 °C (HIT)) during days…
Polymorphisms of candidate genes associated with meat quality and disease resistance in indigenous and exotic pig breeds of Viet
The objectives of this study were to analyse genotype distribution and sequence variations of candidate genes putatively associated with meat quality and disease resistance in exotic and indigenous Vietnamese pig breeds. For this purpose, 340 pigs from four indigenous and…
Effects of bacterial inoculants and an enzyme on the fermentation quality and aerobic stability of ensiled whole-crop sweet sorg
A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of bacterial inoculation and cellulase on the fermentation quality of ensiled whole-crop sweet sorghum (WCSS, Sorghum bicolor L. Moench). The WCSS (323 g dry matter (DM)/kg, 251 g water soluble carbohydrates (WSC)/kg…
Effect of butyric acid supplementation and whole wheat inclusion on the performance and carcass traits of broilers
To evaluate the effects of butyric acid (BA) levels and wheat form (WF) on the performance of broiler chickens, 320 day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly distributed among 32 floor pens. A 4 × 2 factorial arrangement with four…
Steroid implants and markers of bone turnover in steers
Steroidal implants are used extensively in beef cattle management to take advantage of well-documented improvements in growth performance and efficiency. In addition to muscle growth, steroids bring about changes in bone and cartilage formation, hastening bone ageing. The current study…
