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
Protein supplementation, body condition and ovarian activity in goats -Pre-ovulatory serum profile of insulin
This study evaluated the effect of level of by-pass protein supplementation (PSL) and body condition (BC) on ovarian activity and serum insulin (INS) concentrations on does. Does (n = 32, 19 mo.) with either a low BC (LBC = 2.1…
Preliminary results on the role of the vomeronasal organ in modulating the response to the buck effect in does
The vomeronasal organ (VNO) consists of paired, blind ending tubes on either side of the nasal septum. The VNO lumen connects to the nasopalatine canal and also to the oral and nasal cavities. The vomeronasal sensory epithelium is connected to…
Production of semen for artificial insemination from Alpine and Saanen bucks under different photoperiodic cycles
The aim of this study was to evaluate the various alternations between long and short days of sunlight in an attempt to optimise the production of semen collected for artificial insemination (AI) under field conditions. The results suggest that alternation…
Goat semen preserved at 4 °C until 76 hours before artificial insemination: Different attempts to maintain the fertility
The aim of this study was to evaluate the extender composition, presence or absence of seminal plasma and dilution rate of spermatozoa for the preservation of fresh semen during three days before artificial insemination (AI). The percentage of kidding was…
Production and reproduction characteristics of South African indigenous goats in communal farming systems
South African indigenous does in rural communal farming systems kid for the first time at approximately 17 to 18 months of age. Does conceive at a relatively low body condition score (BCS ≈ 2.5 to 3) and their average litter…
Seasonal variation in semen quality of Gorno Altai cashmere goats and South African indigenous goats
Seasonal effects on semen quality of Gorno Altai cashmere goats and South African indigenous goats were studied in this experiment. A definite breeding season for the two breeds was determined. Semen quality parameters that were quantified include semen volume, sperm…
The acaricidal effect of the essential oil of Ageratum houstonianum Mill. flowers on ticks (Rhipicephalus lunulatus) in Cameroon
The acaricidal effect of the essential oil of the flowers of Ageratum houstonianum on Rhipicephalus lunulatus was tested in the Laboratory of Parasitology of the University of Dschang in the Western Highlands zone of Cameroon. Five doses of the essential…
Effects of feeding sericea lespedeza hay to goats infected with Haemonchus contortus
Infection with gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) is a primary constraint to economic goat production in the southern USA. Anthelmintic resistance is highly prevalent in goat nematodes in this region, and non-chemical control methods are needed. Grazing of forages containing condensed tannins…
The effects of five anthelmintic treatment regimens on milk production in goats naturally infected by gastrointestinal nematodes
A study was carried out in Southern Italy on 90 Siriana breed goats with naturally occurring infections of gastrointestinal nematodes. Six similar groups of 15 goats were formed, one untreated control group and five groups treated once with ivermectin (I…
Diseases and mortality of adult goats in a South African milk goat herd
Saanen and South African Indigenous goats were crossbred, and all three types were compared in terms of productivity, milk production and diseases between 1988 and 1994. Clinical mastitis occurred in the herd at a moderate level (28 cases of clinical…
Diseases and mortality of goat kids in a South African milk goat herd
Saanen milk goats were crossed with South African Indigenous goats to evaluate productivity, milk production and disease incidence, and to assess their suitability for milk production by small-scale farmers and households in developing areas. Goat kids were separated from their…
Antibiotic residue withdrawal periods in milk of Saanen dairy goats and udder tissue irritation: Preliminary results
Antibiotic residues in goat milk were measured in two trials. In Trial 1, eight goats were treated with Curaclox LC and six goats were untreated controls. All goats were in early lactation except for one. Withdrawal periods of Curaclox LC…
Progress in understanding the paleness of meat with a low pH
Meat with a low pH is generally paler than at a high pH. Paleness related to pH is caused by light scattering. Myofibrils are a primary cause of pH-related light scattering in meat, but light scattering is also related inversely…
The paradigm of efficiency and sustainability – a dairying perspective
For many, the terms efficiency in food production and sustainability are perceived to be mutually exclusive. This perception is often the result of too narrow a definition of sustainability. This paper reviews the sustainability of efficient dairying systems using the…
Co-variances for reproduction, egg weight and chick weight in ostriches
The study investigated genetic parameters for egg and chick production recorded over an 8-month breeding season, as well as average egg and chick weight for pair-bred ostrich females. Estimates of h² were moderate for reproduction traits and very high for…
Differentiation between females of ostrich breeding trios based on egg weights
Data, collected during the 1997-1998 breeding season from 14 ostrich trios, were used to determine whether two females in a trio could be differentiated based on egg size. For eight of the trios a difference between egg weights could be…
Nutritive value of red vine husks and pips for sheep
The potential of red vine husks and pips as a component of animal feed was investigated. Twenty-five Dohne Merino ram lambs (mean live weight ± s.d. = 41.4 ± 2.3 kg) were used. A completely randomised design was used and…
Post-mortem changes in the physical meat quality characteristics of refrigerated impala M. longissimus dorsi
The effect of aging the M. longissimus dorsi of 13 impala at 4ºC over a ten-day period was investigated. Large variation between animals was observed for the percentages drip and cooking loss as well as for the CIELab colour (L*,…
Is genetic selection for skin nodule traits of ostriches feasible?
Preliminary genetic parameters for nodule traits of ostrich skins were estimated to examine whether genetic improvement of skin quality is feasible. Average nodule size and density per dm² were determined on five localities on each of 439 ostrich skins. An…
Breeding value estimation for somatic cell score in South African dairy cattle
Two fixed regression testday models were applied for variance component estimation and prediction of breeding values for somatic cell score, using testday records of the first three lactations of South African Holstein and Jersey cows. The first model (ML-model) considered…
