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
Influence of species/cultivar and season on the quality of Atriplex grown at different sites in South Africa
Atriplex species/cultivars [Atriplex nummularia, A. canescens (Santa Rita) and A. canescens (Field Reserve 1)] were compared in terms of chemical composition and in vitro digestibility. The plant material was sampled at different seasons (autumn and winter) and from different sites…
The effect of breed on the survivability and motility rate of cryopreserved cock semen
This study evaluated the effect of breed on the survivability and motility rate of cryopreserved cock semen. Semen from three cock breeds; White Leghorn (WL), Ovambo (OV) and Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK) was collected by means of the abdominal massage technique…
Rumen pH and NH3-N concentration of sheep fed temperate pastures supplemented with sorghum grain
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of sorghum grain supplementation on ruminal pH and NH3-N concentration of wethers consuming a fresh temperate pasture (Lotus corniculatus) in metabolism cages. Sixteen Corriedale x Milchschaf wethers were fed temperate…
Dry matter intake and digestibility of temperate pastures supplemented with sorghum grain in wethers and heifers
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of sorghum grain supplementation on total and forage dry matter (DM) intake and digestibility of wethers and heifers consuming temperate pasture. Twenty four Corriedale x Milchschaf wethers and 24 crossbred…
Heat Stress in Tunisia: Effects on dairy cows and potential means for its alleviation
Tunisia has a Mediterranean climate characterized by high ambient temperatures for a long period. Thus, one of the challenges to dairy producers is heat stress. The objectives of this work were to characterize the environmental conditions to which Holstein cows…
Growth and development of the reproductive organs of female breeding ostriches
A study was conducted to determine the growth rate of the reproductive organs of breeding female ostriches, which may be used in a prediction model for estimating nutrient requirements of breeders. Forty breeding female ostriches were sampled over an eight…
Long term use of bovine somatotropic (bST) on reproduction and health of Nili-Ravi buffaloes
The study was conducted to determine the effect of long term use of bovine somatotropic hormone (bST) on days to first oestrus post-partum, number of services per conception, pregnancy rate, lactation length, dry period and calving interval for a period…
Influence of a polyclonal antibody preparation on the in situ degradability of three energy sources
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a polyclonal antibody preparation (PAP) against specific ruminal bacteria on the in situ degradability of dry-grounded maize grain (DMG), high moisture maize silage (HMMS) starch and citrus pulp (CiPu)…
The effect of season on aspects of in vitro embryo production in sub-fertile beef cows
This study was conducted to investigate the possible effect of season on in vitro embryo production (IVEP) in sub-fertile beef cows. Forty beef (40) cows of different breeds and parities were used in a trial conducted as part of a…
Monensin and protein supplements on methane production and rumen protozoa in bovine fed low quality forage
This study aimed at evaluating the effect of sodium monensin and protein supplementation in the enteric methane production and the population of ruminal protozoa in bovine fed Brachiaria brizantha Marandu cultivar hay. The treatments were: mineralized salt, mineralized salt with…
Volatile fatty acids in cattle supplemented with protein-enriched salt and sodium monensin
The effects of sodium monensin and protein supplements on volatile fatty acid production were studied in a 4 x 4 Latin Square design, using four female bovines equipped with rumen fistulae and fed Brachiaria brizantha Marandu cultivar hay. The treatments…
Comparison of growth rates in the tissues of primal cuts of Canadian composites
Beef composites (C) have combined favourable traits of pure breeds. The objective was to compare the growth rates (GR) of muscle (M) and fat (F) in the primal cuts of serially harvested Beefbooster® C types (SM = C of small…
Assessment of Nili-Ravi buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) semen by MTT reduction assay
MTT (3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay is commonly used to validate the viability of metabolically active cells. The study was conducted to examine and validate the MTT test to assess the sperm viability of Nili-Ravi buffalo bulls and compare the…
A model for assessing Medicago Sativa L. hay quality
A study was conducted to identify chemical parameters and/or models for assessing Medicago sativa L. (L) hay quality, using near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) analysis and Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) milk prediction as a criterion of accuracy. …
Serum progesterone as an indicator of cyclic activity in post-partum goat does
Abstract The aim of this trial was to assess post-partum ovarian activity of the does of two South African goat breeds from their serum progesterone concentrations. Between seven and 100 days post-partum, does from the Boer goat breed and an…
Effects of varying levels of thermostable xylanase, amylase and protease (TXAP) enzyme supplement on body growth of broiler chic
AbstractA dose-response experiment was conducted with Ross broiler chickens from day-old to 42d of age to determine the effect of exogenous composite enzyme (TXAP) on broiler performance and the most beneficial rate of inclusion. Broiler chickens were fed maize-soyabean…
Genetic analysis of somatic cell score and udder type traits in South African Holstein cows
Selection accuracy for resistance to mastitis may be increased by combining somatic cell score (SCS) and udder type into an udder health index, using genetic parameter estimates among them. A multi-trait animal model was used to estimate genetic parameters among…
Effect of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on the growth and lipid metabolism of geese and fatty acid composition of their
The objective of this study was to determine the effects of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) oil supplementation on the growth performance and lipid metabolism in geese and the fatty acid concentrations in their liver and muscle tissues. One hundred and…
Effects of dietary probiotic and prebiotic supplementation on growth performance and serum IgG concentration of broilers
This study was conducted to investigate the effects of probiotic and/or prebiotic supplementation on growth performance and serum IgG concentrations in broilers. One thousand two hundred one-day old Ross-308 broiler chicks of mixed sex were randomly divided into four treatment…
