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
Validating the breeding value for maternal preweaning gain in beef cattle with measured milk production
The objective of this research was to validate the maternal breeding value for preweaning gain as a predictor of genetic differences in milk production. Phenotypic variation in preweaning gain and in milk production measured by the weigh-suckle-weigh method was partitioned…
Genetic parameters for growth traits in South African Limousin cattle
Accurate genetic parameters are vital for genetic prediction, selection on breeding values and creation of selection objectives. Consequently, records for birth weight (BW), 200 (WW), 400 (YW) and 600 (FW) day weight were analyzed to obtain heritability estimates. These records…
Wet faeces produced by sheep fed dried spineless cactus pear cladodes in balanced diets
Cactus pear cladodes in ruminant diets are characterized by the production of wet faeces and assumed to be diarrhoea. Incremental levels of sun-dried and coarsely ground spineless cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica var. Algerian) cladodes were used to substitute part of…
Plasma free amino acid profiles of Boer goat bucks as influenced by two feeding regimens
The aim of the study was to monitor the physiological changes in plasma free amino acid profiles in Boer goats under nutritional restriction. Fifteen Boer goat bucks were allocated to two experimental groups: CG (control), fed Themeda trianda hay, supplemented…
Selenium (Se) supplementation on the Se status of dairy cows in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal
A dose-response trial was conducted with dairy cows on six farms in the Ixopo district of the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal. Up to 30 cows per farm received a single subcutaneous injection of 5 mL of a long-acting/slow-releasing selenium (Se) supplement…
A developing country perspective on recent developments in animal breeding and intellectual property rights
Animal breeding and genetics have changed markedly, resembling those that have already taken place in the plant sector. These changes are going to be larger with sequenced genomes, transgenic livestock and cloned animals. Animal scientists have now started to protect…
Effect of selection for lean growth on gonadal development of commercial pig genotypes in South Africa
A primary objective of commercial pig production is lean meat yield in order to satisfy consumer needs. The majority of the commercial pig breeds in South Africa have been selected for high lean growth potential and reduced backfat thickness. There…
Superovulatory response in Boer goats pre-treated with a GnRH agonist outside the natural breeding season
The aim of this study was to evaluate the ovarian response and embryo recovery rates in Boer goat does superovulated with pFSH following a pre-treatment with a GnRH agonist (GnRHa) outside the natural breeding season. Oestrus was synchronised in 22…
Crude protein changes on grassland along a degradation gradient in a semi-arid climate
The aim with this investigation was to quantify the impact of different veld condition classes, viz. poor, moderate and good on soil-water utilization (SWU: crude protein produced per unit of evapotranspiration), during four growing seasons (2000/01 – 2003/2004). Evapotranspiration was…
Estimating grassland production loss due to fire for a semi-arid climate
Accidental, runaway veld fires cause enormous fodder flow problems in dry regions. It was the objective of this study to estimate the short-term (one year) impact of fire over 10 growing seasons (1995/96 – 2004/05) on the productivity (aboveground phytomass…
Effects of vitrification and post-thawing interval on the cytoskeleton and subsequent fertilization rate of in vitro derived bov
Vitrification may alter the cytoskeleton (microtubule, meiotic spindle, microfilament, etc.) and the subsequent fertilization rate of in vitro derived bovine oocytes. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of vitrification and post-thawing incubation periods on the cytoskeleton and fertilization…
Effect of different grazing pressure by lambs grazing Lolium perenne and Dactylis glomerata pastures during spring on: 1. Diet q
This study was undertaken to determine the influence of three grazing pressures [high (HGP), medium (MGP) and low (LGP), corresponding to 30, 50 and 75 g available DM/kg BW/day, respectively] on the quality of herbage consumed by lambs grazing Lolium…
Effect of different grazing pressures by lambs grazing Lolium perenne and Dactylis glomerata pastures during spring on: 2. Intak
This study was undertaken to determine the influence of three grazing pressures [high (HGP), medium (MGP) and low (LGP), corresponding to 30, 50 and 75 g available DM/kg BW/day, respectively] on the performance of lambs grazing Lolium perenne and Dactylis…
Ruminal degradation and in vitro gas production characteristics of foliage from Atriplex species and Cassia sturtii
This study was undertaken to determine the degradation characteristics and in vitro gas production kinetics of drought tolerant shrubs (Cassia sturtii, Atriplex nummularia and three Atriplex canescens cultivars, viz. Santa Rita, Field Reserve 1 and Rincon) growing under South African…
The effect of supplementary light on certain productive parameters of young beef bulls fed intensively
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplementary light on the performance of bulls in a feedlot. Feed intake (FI), average daily gain (ADG), back fat thickness (BFT), eye muscle area (EMA), P8 (fat layer on…
Superovulatory response of Boer goat does pre-treated with a GnRH-agonist during the natural breeding season
A trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of pre-treatment with a GnRH agonist (GnRHa) on the superovulatory response in Boer goats during the natural breeding season. Twenty-one does were synchronised with CIDR’s for 17 days and superovulated with a…
Growth performance of indigenous chickens under intensive management conditions in Northwest Ethiopia
A study was conducted to evaluate the growth performance of indigenous and Rhode Island Red (RIR) chickens under intensive management conditions for 22 weeks using standard commercial diets. Eggs from seven indigenous chicken lines were collected from the respective administrative…
Fermentation in the rumen of sheep fed Atriplex nummularia cv. De Kock supplemented with incremental levels of barley and maize
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of two carbohydrate sources, barley and maize, on the ruminal fermentation of Atriplex nummularia cv. De Kock fed to sheep. Barley was used as a source of rapid fermentable carbohydrates…
In vitro digestibility and in situ degradability of avocado meal and macadamia waste products in sheep
Waste products from the avocado (avocado meal, AM) and macadamia (macadamia oilcake, MOC and macadamia chips, MCH) processing industries have the potential to be included in animal diets, depending on their nutritive value. Avocado meal consisted of oil-extracted avocados unsuitable…
