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 (2025): 0.8 (Q4 of subject category)
Scimago (SJR) (2025): 0.231 (Q3)
Scopus CiteScore (2025): 1.4
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…
The drying rate and chemical composition of field and artificially dried lucerne hay (Short communication)
The drying rate and chemical composition of lucerne hay that was field dried (sun cured) or artificially dried in a forced air bulk drier (FABD) were compared during summer (which is the dry season in the Western Cape Province). On…
Carcass characteristics and meat quality of progeny of five Merino dam lines, crossed with Dormer and Suffolk sires
This study details the slaughter traits of lambs born from a terminal crossbreeding experiment that involved five Merino type dam lines crossed with Dormer and Suffolk sires. Dam lines included dual purpose types; South African Mutton Merino (SAMM), Dohne Merino,…
Breeding objectives for Angus and Charolais specialized sire lines for use in the emerging sector of South African beef producti
Breeding indigenous cows to terminal sires may facilitate production of calves in the emerging sector that better meet commercial feedlot requirements. Thus, the objective of this research was to develop breeding objectives for Angus and Charolais terminal sires to be…
Characterisation of Zulu (Nguni) sheep using linear body measurements and some environmental factors affecting these measurement
Data on linear body measurements (LBM) of ca. 100 Zulu sheep raised under extensive management systems at four sites in northern KwaZulu-Natal were collected over a period of 2.5 years (October 2000 to May 2003). Data were used to quantify…
Analysis of growth curves of indigenous male Venda
The objective of this work was to estimate and compare the growth curve parameters for live weight of indigenous Venda and Naked Neck chickens and carry out some analyses to test the existence of differences in the growth pattern between…
Polymorphisms of the CAST gene in the Meishan and five other pig populations in China
The aim of the study was to characterize the polymorphism of the Calpastatin (CAST) gene identified with three restriction enzymes (TaqI, HinfI, MspI) in Meishan and five other pig populations, and to provide information on their potential in marker-assisted selection…
Production and reproduction norms of fine woolled Merino sheep on natural pastures in the Karoo
The objective of this study was to establish a fine woolled Merino flock at the Grootfontein Agricultural Development Institute in order to evaluate the production and reproduction performance of fine woolled animals against a control line on natural pastures in…
Partial replacement of fish and soyabean meal protein in mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio) diets by protein in hazelnut meal
An 80-day feeding trial was conducted as two experiments to evaluate the effects of replacement of fish meal (FM) and soyabean meal (SBM) protein with hazelnut meal (HM) protein in the diets of mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio) fingerlings. Growth parameters…
Anti-nutritional factors in canola produced in the Western and Southern Cape areas of South Africa
The development of low erucic acid, low glucosinolate cultivars of canola seed has led to the availability of a feed ingredient with considerable potential to replace soyabean meal in diets for all classes of farm animals. The sinapine and glucosinolate…
Growth and carcass characteristics of crossbred progeny from lean-tailed and
The performance of two fat-tailed sheep breeds, Chaal and Zandi, and their F1 and R1 crossbred lambsfrom a lean-tailed breed, Zel, was compared. The weaned lambs from the Chaal and Zandi groups were finished over periods of 105 and 90…
Comparison of gene expression patterns between porcine cumulus-oocyte complexes and naked oocytes
Several layers of cumulus cells surround the oocyte in the antral ovarian follicle throughout the follicular development until ovulation. The cumulus cells play an important supportive and regulative role in oocyte development and maturation via intercellular communications between oocytes and…
Effects of dietary energy density and L-carnitine supplementation on growth performance, carcass traits and blood parameters of
The present study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary metabolisable energy (ME) density and L-carnitine supplementation on the performance, carcass traits and blood parameters of broiler chickens. The experiment was designed with three levels of dietary energy (low,…
Effect of dietary oils and conjugated linoleic acid on the growth performance of broilers vaccinated with the La Sota Newcastle
The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary oils on growth performance of broiler chicks vaccinated with La Sota vaccine against Newcastle disease. One hundred and seventy five 1-week old Ross PM3 male broiler chicks were…
Milk production and in sacco disappearance of pasture NDF in grazing Jersey cows receiving a barley based concentrate
The aim of the experiment was to determine the effect of feeding low (2.4 kg/d), medium (4.8 kg/d) and high (7.2 kg/d) levels of a barley-based concentrate on milk production and in sacco ruminal disappearance of dry matter (DM) and…
Broilers perform better on short or step-up photoperiods
Rearing broilers on 6-h photoperiods and transferring them to 23 h at 21 d has been shown to reduce mortality and the incidence of leg disorders without adversely affecting final body weight or feed conversion efficiency. However, in many countries,…
Effect of tanniniferous browse meal on nematode faecal egg counts and
The effect of tanniniferous browse meal on faecal egg counts (FEC) and intestinal worm burdens was investigated in sheep and goats infested experimentally with gastrointestinal nematodes. Initially, leaves of different browse tree species were assayed for condensed tannin (CT) content…
