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
Microsatellite markers reveal low genetic differentiation among southern African Camelus dromedarius populations
We report new demographic and genetic data on southern African camel (Camelus dromedarius) populations. Results from questionnaires on demography indicated that approximately 476 camels were extant in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana in 2003. We have sampled 234 camels for…
The effect of rumen degradable protein level and source on the duodenal essential amino acid profile of sheep
Two trials were conducted to determine the effects of rumen degradable protein (RDP) level and source on the duodenal essential amino acid (AA) composition of Dohne Merino wethers. The animals had ad libitum access to wheat straw (32 g crude…
The effects of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and canola oil on the fatty acid composition and quality of eggs from laying hens
Dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) causes adverse effects on quality of eggs by modifying the fatty acid composition of the yolk. Supplementing oils prevent CLA-induced changes, but cause a decrease in the level of egg CLA. The objective of the…
Supplementary radio noise advances sexual maturity in domestic pullets exposed to 7-h photoperiods
Cage-reared, egg-type domestic pullets were given a 7L:17D regimen from 2 d of age. At eight weeks, 24 birds were transferred to individual cages in each of four controlled environment chambers and maintained on 7-h photoperiods. A radio was played…
Effect of heat treatment on in situ rumen degradability and in vitro gas production of full-fat soyabeans and soyabean meal
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the heat treatment of full-fat soyabean (FFSB) and solvent extracted soyabean meal (SBM) on the in situ dry matter (DM) and protein degradability, and in vitro gas production kinetics…
Predicting yields of high priced trimmed beef cuts by means of carcass weight and visual assessments of fat cover and conformati
The total and individual trimmed meat yield of six hind quarter cuts and one fore quarter cut were estimated for 200 carcasses from animals of mixed origin with regard to breed, sex and feeding regimen. The linear models included carcass…
Effect of cultivar and formaldehyde treatment of barley grain on rumen fermentation characteristics using in vitro gas productio
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of cultivar and formaldehyde treatment of barley grains on rumen fermentation characteristics using the in vitro gas production technique. Amount of gas produced (mL/g organic matter (OM)) during fermentation was…
Effect of two commercial preparations of condensed tannins on the survival of gastrointestinal nematodes of mice and goats in vi
In vitro studies were carried out to investigate anthelmintic activities of two commercial tannin preparations, quebracho (QT) and wattle (WT), against a freshly isolated mouse nematode (Heligmosomoides polygyrus) and goat nematodes (Haemonchus contortus and Oesophagostomum columbianum). The worms were incubated…
Nutritive value of Acacia tree foliages growing in the Limpopo Province of
Acacia trees form the third largest woody plant family in southern Africa and are an important ecological component of the bushveld vegetation that is prevalent in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The purpose of the study was to determine…
The effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG 8000) supplementation on in vitro gas production kinetics of leaves from tannin containin
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of inclusion of polyethylene glycol (PEG 8000) during in vitro incubation on gas production kinetics, organic matter digestibility (OMD) and the metabolisable energy (ME) content of foliage from the tannin…
Application of different models to the lactation curves of unimproved Awassi ewes in Turkey
The objective of this study was to investigate the use of four different mathematical functions (Wood, Inverse Polynomial, Quadratic and Cubic models) for describing the lactation curve of unimproved Awassi ewes. Data were collected from 136 ewes from the same…
Weaning strategies to improve the performance of sows and their progeny under smallholder farming conditions
The effect of restricted suckling and split weaning on the reproductive performance of dams and subsequent performance of their litters was studied in an experiment involving 48 Landrace x Large White sows of second and third parity. The sows and…
Angoradb: A database for QTL research in Angora goats
Biological data repositories are widely applied to assist researchers in effectively storing and retrieving data. The recent developments in molecular biology intensified the need for well-designed biological databases, which can be queried without increasing the computational time. This study describes…
The effect of conjugated linoleic acid on the fatty acid composition of different tissues and yolk lipids in pigeons
Dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) was reported to increase the levels of saturated fatty acids (SFA), to decrease monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) in egg yolk, liver and adipose tissue in chicken and quail. Hence, the objective of this study was…
The effect of coriander seed (Coriandrum sativum L.) as diet ingredient on the performance of Japanese quail
This study was conducted to determine the potential of coriander seed as a natural growth promoting substance in quail nutrition. Five hundred and ninety four 3-day old Japanese quails were divided into six groups of 99 birds each and randomly…
Effect of age and blood collection site on the metabolic profile of ostriches
The serum metabolic profile of ostriches was studied in relation to the blood collection site (jugular vs. wing vein) and age (1 vs. 2 years) on 20 male birds. Blood was collected from the birds in the morning, after 12…
The effect of nutritional stress on the wool production potential of strong and fine wool Merino sheep
The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of short-term nutritional stress after weaning on the wool production characteristics of fine vs. strong wool producing Merino sheep over the short and medium term. Forty fine wool and 40…
Effect of housing, initial weight and season on feedlot performance
Feedlot information, submitted by Iowa cattle producers to the Iowa State University Feedlot Performance and Cost Monitoring Program, was examined to determine the effects of housing, initial weight and season interactions on beef steer performance. Feedlot information, consisting of 1225…
Effect of chronological age of beef steers of different maturity types on their growth and carcass characteristics when finished
In the arid sweetveld regions of South Africa producers are marketing beef steers increasingly as long weaners (ca. 12 months of age) or finishing them on the natural grazing to a ready-to-slaughter stage at between 18 and 30 months of…
Effect of phytase supplementation of diets with different levels of phosphorus on performance and egg quality of laying hens in
Four hundred and eighty 54-week old Nick-Brown hens were assigned to four dietary treatments. Each treatment consisted of four replications of 10 cages (three hens per cage). The experimental diets were: 4.5 g available phosphorus (aP)/kg without phytase (control); 4.5…
