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
Estimation of growth curve parameters in Konya Merino sheep (Short communication)
The objective of this study was to determine the fitness of Quadratic, Cubic, Gompertz and Logistic functions to the growth curves of Konya Merino lambs obtained by using monthly records of live weight from birth to 480 days of age…
The effect of age at photostimulation of male broiler breeders on testes growth and the attainment of sexual maturity
Male broiler breeders were photostimulated at different ages (56, 77, 98, 119, 147 and 161 d) during the period of growth prior to achieving sexual maturity to observe their response to photoperiod stimulation. Birds were sampled at regular intervals to…
Genetic parameters for subjectively assessed wool and conformation traits in the Tygerhoek Merino flock
Records of the Tygerhoek Merino resource flock were used to estimate genetic, phenotypic and environmental parameters for subjectively assessed wool and conformation traits. The database consisted of records of 4 495 animals, the progeny of 449 sires and 1 831…
Relationships of subjectively assessed wool and conformation traits with objectively measured wool and live weight traits in the
Records of the Tygerhoek Merino resource flock were used to estimate genetic, phenotypic and environmental parameters between subjective wool and conformation traits with objective wool and live weight traits. The database contained records of 4 495 animals, the progeny of…
The effect of single or combined dietary supplementation of prebiotics, organic acid and probiotics on performance and slaughter
A study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of an organic acid, a probiotic or a prebiotic alone or the prebiotic combined with the organic acid or the probiotic on the performance and slaughter characteristics of broiler…
Effect of bleeding method and low voltage electrical stimulation on meat quality of ostriches
The effect on ostrich muscle quality of an additional thoracic stick (TS) to the normal ventral throat slit to bleed ostriches after electrical stunning was evaluated. The additional TS had no negative or positive effect on the drip loss, cooking…
Effect of location of eggs in the incubator on hatchability of eggs from Bronze turkey breeders of different ages
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of location in an incubator on the hatching characteristics of eggs obtained from Bronze turkeys of different ages, viz. at the ages of 8, 10 and 12 months. In the…
Effect of dietary mannan oligosaccharide with or without oregano essential oil and hop extract supplementation on the performanc
The effects of some alternative feed additives for antibiotic growth promoters on performance and some slaughter characteristics were examined in broilers fed wheat-soya based basal starter and finisher diets. A total of 2160 one-day-old male broiler chicks were randomly allocated…
The influence of fat score and fat trimming on primal cut composition of South African lamb
The objectives of this study were to evaluate the primal cut composition of South African lamb carcasses with different fat scores, and to identify cuts suitable for fat trimming. Sixty grain fed Dorper lambs (rams and ewes) were divided into…
Comparative digestive ability and rumen microbial community of N’Dama and N’Dama x Jersey cattle fed different diets
Rumen fluid collected from three rumen fistulated N’Dama and three crossbred animals fed three different diets at medium supplementation level, was used to compare the plant cell wall degrading community of the two breeds of cattle. In vivo digestibility was…
Genetic parameters for ostrich incubation traits in South Africa
Data obtained from a pair-mated ostrich flock located at Oudtshoorn, South Africa, were used to estimate genetic parameters for egg weight (EWT), weight of day-old chicks (CWT), water loss to 21 (WL21) and 35 (WL35) days of incubation, and pipping…
Non-linear model analysis of categorical traits related to female reproduction efficiency in beef cattle
The utilization of non-linear threshold models and linear animal models to estimate variance components for categorical reproductive traits in beef cattle was investigated. Three traits, retention (RET), stayability (STAY) and calf tempo (CT) were defined. The data set consisted of…
Developmental differences in carcass, meat quality and muscle fibre characteristics between the Landrace and a Chinese native pi
This experiment was conducted to compare carcass and meat quality traits, and muscle fibre characteristics in the longissimus muscle of the Landrace [an European pig breed] and the Lantang [a Chinese native pig breed] at the ages of 60, 90…
Dietary vitamin E (α-tocopheryl acetate) and organic selenium supplementation: performance and antioxidant status of broilers fe
The experiment was conducted to study the effects of organic selenium (Se-enriched yeast) and vitamin E (α-tocopheryl acetate) supplementation, alone or together, on the performance and antioxidant status of broilers fed diets enriched in n-3 PUFAs using fish oil. Day-old…
The effect of porcine somatotropin (pST) and gender on production parameters and tissue yield of pigs slaughtered at 135 kg live
Eighteen F1 crossbred (commercial-type terminal crosses) pigs (boars, barrows and gilts) with an initial weight of 27.2 ± 2 kg were used to investigate the effect of porcine somatotropin (pST) administered for six weeks prior to slaughter on production parameters…
Sex of calf and age of dam adjustment factors for birth and weaning weight in Tswana and Composite beef cattle breeds in Botswan
Records on 2 257 Composite and 5 923 Tswana calves born between the period of 1988 and 2006 in Botswana were used to calculate additive correction factors for the effects of sex of calf and age of dam on birth…
Body weight, scrotal circumference and testosterone concentration in young Boer goat males born during the dry or rainy seasons
The aim of this study was to compare testosterone concentration, body weight, scrotal circumference and age to penis detachment from days 30 to 240 in young Boer goat males (n = 22) born during the dry (n = 11) and…
Mortality determination and gender identification of conceptuses in pregnancies of Santa Ines ovine by ultrasound
The aim of this study was to monitor early gestation in Santa Ines ewes by ultrasound in order to determine embryo and foetal loss, and to identify foetal sex. Ewes (n = 132) were submitted to controlled natural mating. For…
Feed efficiency and carcass and meat quality characteristics of bulls finished on diets containing varied proportions of wheat s
Fifteen young Holstein Friesian bulls (18 mo of age) were divided into three groups of five. All groups were fed a diet consisting of 60% concentrate and 40% roughage. The control (C) group received a mixture of dry meadow hay,…
Genetic parameter estimates for tick resistance in Bonsmara cattle
The objectives of the study were to estimate genetic parameters for tick resistance and to evaluate the effect of the level of tick infestation on the estimates of genetic parameters for South African Bonsmara cattle. Field data of repeated tick…
