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
The fatty acid composition of muscles and fat depots of ostriches as influenced by genotype
Three genotypes of ostrich (South African Black, Zimbabwean Blue Necks and crosses between Zimbabwean Blue Neck males x South African Black females) were used to investigate the influence of genotype on the fatty acid composition of the musculus gastrocnemius and…
Effects of dietary L-threonine and Saccharomyces cerevisiae on performance, intestinal morphology and immune response of broiler
The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of four dietary levels of L-threonine (0, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 g/kg) with or without Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) on performance, carcass characteristics, intestinal morphology and immune system of broiler chickens…
Divergent selection for reproduction affects dag score, breech wrinkle score and crutching time in Merinos (Short communication)
Merino lines that were divergently selected from the same base population from 1986 to 2009 for their ability to rear multiples were assessed for dag score in autumn and spring, breech wrinkle score, and crutching time. Animals in the Low…
Prediction of 305-day milk yield in Brown Swiss cattle using artificial neural networks
Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been shown to be a powerful tool for system modelling in a wide range of applications. In this paper, we focus on the capability of ANNs to predict 305-d milk yield in early lactation of…
Analysis of troponin I gene polymorphisms and meat quality in Mongcai pigs
Troponin I is one of myofibrillar proteins required for the calcium regulation of skeletal muscle contraction. The expression of both genes, TNNI1 and TNNI2, in troponin is muscle fibre specific and may affect meat quality traits. In this study, the…
Performance and physiological responses of milk-fed calves to coated calcium butyrate supplementation
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of coated calcium butyrate (CCB) on calf performance and some blood parameters. Sixteen female Holstein calves with a mean age of 3 ± 1 d were divided into two equal…
The effect of dietary crude protein on the fertility of male broiler breeders
Reports on the influence of dietary crude protein on male broiler breeder fertility are not consistent, and therefore an experiment was conducted to determine the effect of three isoenergetic diets containing 10.5%, 12.6% and 15% crude protein, respectively, on Ross…
Responses of Black Neck ostrich chicks to L-carnitine dietary supplementation during the pre-starter growth period (Short commun
The objective was to determine the growth responses of Black Neck ostrich chicks to different dietary levels of L-carnitine in pre-starter diets. Thirty-two day-old ostrich chicks were randomly divided into four treatments with four replicates, each containing two chicks. All…
Physical and chemical properties of selected beef muscles infused with a phosphate and lactate blend
The consumer demands a beef product of consistent and acceptable tenderness. The infusion of beef muscles with a blend containing sodium and potassium salts, various phosphates and lactates has the potential to improve the current status of low meat consumption…
Effect of RRR-α-tocopherol succinate on the meat quality and antioxidative status in broilers
The objective of this study was to compare the effects of two esters of α-tocopherol, all-rac-α-tocopherol acetate (DL-α-TOA) and RRR-α-tocopherol succinate (D-α-TOS), on meat quality and the antioxidative status in chicks. A total of 320 day-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks…
Effects of feeding the seeds of Prosopis laevigata, Acacia schaffneri and Ceratonia siliqua on the performance of broiler chicks
The aim of the present study was to assess the nutrient contents and potential feeding value in the diet of broiler chicks of the seed of three tree species, mesquite (Prosopis laevigata), Schaffneri´s wattle (Acacia schaffneri) and the carob tree…
Chemical composition, fatty acid profile and colour of broiler meat as affected by organic and conventional rearing systems
The major quality characteristics of breast and thigh meat, including chemical composition, fatty acid composition, cholesterol content and colour of slow-growing broilers (Hubbard Red-JA), reared under either organic or conventional rearing systems, and fast-growing broilers (Ross-308) grown under the conventional…
Broiler breeders utilise body lipid as an energy source
The study was conducted to determine the extent to which broiler breeder hens could make use of excess body lipid reserves as a means of maintaining laying performance. The experiment was divided into two phases. In the first phase, the…
Dietary supplementation of mannanoligosaccharides to turkey hens on their growth performance and antioxidant status in the blood
The research focused on the effect of a prebiotic additive, mannanoligosaccharides (Bio-Mos), in the diet of turkey hens on their growth performance and measurements of pro-oxidation and antioxidation systems in their blood. The investigation was performed on 240 six-week-old turkey…
Estimation of genetic and phenotypic parameters for sow productivity traits in South African Large White pigs
The objective of the study was to estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters for sow productivity traits of South African Large White pigs, using data from the Integrated Registration and Genetic Information Systems. The analyses were done on 29 719 records…
Dietary Rhus coriaria L. powder reduces the blood cholesterol, VLDL-c and glucose, but increases abdominal fat in broilers
In an experiment, 200 one-day-old broiler chickens (Ross 308) were used to investigate the effects of sumac fruit (Rhus coriaria L.) powder (SFP) on performance, plasma concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL-c), low density lipoprotein…
Variety effect on composition, kinetics of fermentation and in vitro digestibility of oat (Avena sativa L.) straw and its neutral detergent fibre
Yield, chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and kinetics of fermentation of straw from 18 varieties of oats (Avena sativa L.) were studied. All the straw varieties were grown in three replicates under the same agronomic conditions. Significance differences were observed…
Improved production efficiency in cattle to reduce their carbon footprint for beef production
The FAO publication, Livestock’s Long Shadow, indicated that livestock is responsible for 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas production thereby creating the perception that livestock is a major cause of global warming. Methane (CH4) makes up 16% of total world…
Selenium concentration of maize grain in South Africa and possible factors influencing the concentration
A total of 896 maize grain samples were obtained from all the maize silos throughout South Africa (231 silos) and analysed for selenium (Se) content. This information was used to compile a regional distribution map of the Se content of…
Environmental factors influencing milk urea nitrogen in South African Holstein cattle
By knowing the milk urea nitrogen (MUN) content of dairy cows, the efficiency of dietary nitrogen utilization can be improved. The main objectives of this study were to identify and quantify environmental factors affecting MUN in South African Holstein cows…
