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
Growth and carcass characteristics of male dairy calves on a yeast culture-supplemented diet
This experiment was carried out to study the effect of the inclusion of a yeast culture in the diet of feeder dairy calves on their growth and carcass characteristics. Thirty male Friesian calves were randomly allocated to two groups of…
Effects of post mortem temperature on rigor tension, shortening and pH in ostrich muscle
Fully developed rigor mortis in muscle is characterised by maximum loss of extensibility. The course of post mortem changes in ostrich muscle was studied by following isometric tension, shortening and change in pH during the first 24 h post mortem…
Genetic variation of indigenous chicken breeds in China and a Recessive White breed using AFLP fingerprinting
Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) using six marker combinations were applied to detect genetic variation and phylo genetic relationships among 12 indigenous Chinese chicken breeds and a Recessive White chicken breed introduced from France. The DNA was pooled for each…
Broilers (Gallus gallus) are less stressed if they can smell a mother odorant
Performance, physiological and behavioural parameters of two groups of domestic chickens were compared. Chickens were raised in classical commercial conditions in buildings housing 12000 birds. One group acted as a control, while the environment of the other was perfused with…
Effects of ovariectomy and anabolic steroid implantation on the somatotrophic axis in feedlot heifers
A 2 x 2 factorial experimental design was used to evaluate effects of ovariectomy and implantation (200 mg trenbolone acetate and 28 mg estradiol benzoate; Synovex-Plus) on the performance, serum urea nitrogen, serum insulin like growth factor -1 (IGF-1), and…
Effects of different raising systems on colour and quality characteristics of Turkish Pekin duck meats
The current trial was conducted to determine the influence of different raising systems on the meat quality properties of male Turkish Pekin ducks. Ninety male ducklings were randomly allocated to three experimental groups: an animal-fish integrated farming group (IG), a…
Procedures for estimation of genetic persistency indices for milk production for the South African dairy industry
Procedures have been developed for calculation of a Persistency Index for South African dairy breeds. This index is based on the Canadian Persistency Index, which is simple and easy to understand. Data used in this study were test-day records of…
Effects of genotype and egg weight on hatchability traits and hatching weight in Japanese quail
The effects of genotype and egg weight on hatching weight, fertility, hatchability of fertile eggs and incubated eggs were investigated in Japanese quail. The birds were obtained at an age of 20 weeks from four genetic lines selected for 11…
Effects of implant programs on performance, carcass characteristics, and lipogenic gene expression in Holstein steers
Nineteen Holstein steers were randomly assigned to one of four treatments; no implant (CON); 36 mg zeranol (Ralgro) on d 0 and 20 mg estradiol benzoate plus 200 mg progesterone (Synovex S) on d 84 and 169 (RSS); Ralgro on…
Acceptability of chevon from kids, yearling goats and mature does of indigenous South African goats: A case study
Consumer sensory evaluations of oven-roasted goat and sheep m. longissimus dorsi samples were conducted in two series to determine the acceptability of chevon from indigenous South African goats to consumers. Chevon samples were from goat carcasses of known description. In…
Effects of L-carnitine in layer diets containing different fat sources and energy levels on hen performance and egg quality
The study was conducted to determine the effects of feeding diets containing two levels of metabolisable energy (normal or low) and three sources of fat (palm-, sunflower- or fish-oil) with or without L-carnitine (0 or 500 mg/kg diet) on the…
Genetic diversity and population structure of locally adapted South African chicken lines: Implications for conservation
In this study microsatellite markers were applied to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of the six local chicken lines kept in the "Fowls for Africa" program, for better clarification of parameters for breed differentiation and genetic conservation of…
Estimation of carcass composition and fat depots by means of subcutaneous adipocyte area and body and tail measurements in fat-t
This study was conducted to establish prediction equations for subcutaneous adipocyte area and body and tail measurements to estimate carcass composition and fat depots of indigenous Akkaraman lambs. As a major carcass tissue, body fat depots play an important role…
Structural assessment of backcrossing using microsatellite markers (Short communication)
Backcrossing, coupled with marker or gene assisted selection, can be used to introgress a specific gene or chromosomal region from one population into another. The objective of this study was to assess the genomic structure of cattle produced by backcrossing…
Effect of dietary protein content on growth, uniformity and mortality of two commercial broiler strains
Two experiments were conducted to determine the response in performance, including uniformity and mortality, of two broiler strains to dietary protein content. In Experiment 1, 480 Cobb 500 and 480 Ross 788 day-old sexed broiler chickens were housed in cages…
The performance and meat quality of Bonsmara steers raised in a feedlot, on conventional pastures or on organic pastures
The effects of production system (feeding regime and time on feed) on growth performance, yield and economics and the effects of feeding regime, pre-slaughter treatment and electrical stimulation on meat quality were evaluated. Sixty Bonsmara steers were divided into three…
Systematic factors that affect ostrich egg incubation traits
Data obtained from a pair-mated ostrich flock maintained at Oudtshoorn, South Africa, were used to estimate environmental and genetic parameters for egg weight (EWT), water loss of incubated eggs up to 21 days (WL21), water loss up to 35 days…
Physical impact of grazing by sheep in the Nama Karoo subshrub/grass rangeland of South Africa on litter and dung distribution (
The direct short-term impact of three rates of stocking (4, 8 and 16 Small Stock Units/ha) on arid Nama Karoo vegetation (shrub/grass) was quantified in terms of dung distribution and trampling. Grazing, by mature Merino wethers took place for one…
Fish meal supplementation to early lactation Jersey cows grazing ryegrass pasture
This trial was conducted to test the hypothesis that early lactation cows grazing ryegrass pasture and receiving maize and mineral supplementation could respond to additional supplementation with a protein source such as fish meal. Multiparous Jersey cows in early to…
Changes in nutrient composition of kikuyu foggage as winter progressed
Samples of kikuyu foggage (standing hay) were collected in northern KwaZulu-Natal from five adjoining paddocks to measure the changes in nutrient composition of the foggage as winter progressed. Leaves and stems were separated. The first samples collected on the 18th…
