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
Variance component estimation on female fertility traits in beef cattle (Review article)
The purpose of this review is to define possible breeding objectives for Southern African beef cattle farmers and to review different means of expressing genetic reproductive merit. The breeding objective considered was to maximize the number of calves born or…
Performance responses of lambs of various ages to Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) fertilized with various levels of nitrog
Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum cv. Midmar) is often fertilized with high levels of nitrogen (N) in order to ensure maximum dry matter (DM) yields. This practice also increases the N content of herbage. This study was conducted to determine whether…
Intake and rumen degradation in cattle fed napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) supplemented with various levels of Desmodium int
This study was conducted to assess the effect of greenleaf desmodium (Desmodium intortum) and sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatus) supplementation of napier grass on dry matter intake, degradation and rumen fermentation in Friesian steers. Four fistulated steers were offered napier…
Effect of dietary vitamin E on the performance of broilers and quality of broiler meat during refrigerated and frozen storage
Experiment I was carried out with 220 one-day-old broiler chicks to evaluate the effect of 11 different levels of vitamin E supplementation (viz. 0 to 200 mg α-tocopheryl acetate/kg diet) on the production performance of broilers and oxidative stability of…
Productive performance of naked neck, frizzle and dwarf laying hens under various natural climates and two nutritional treatments
The productive performance of major genes for feather reduction (naked neck and frizzle) and body size reduction (dwarf) in a dual-purpose layer strain was evaluated in the subtropical coastal region of southeast Africa (Maputo, Mozambique). The experimental material consisted of…
Relationships between production and product traits in subpopulations of Bonsmara and Nguni cattle
Ninety bull calves of five Bonsmara strains, viz. Edelheer (E), T-49 (T), Wesselsvlei (W), Roodebos (R) and Belmont Red (BR), and two Nguni sub-populations, viz. Bartlow (B) and non-Bartlow (NB), were fattened under intensive feeding conditions and serially slaughtered at…
Genetic and phenotypic variation of some reproductive traits in Egyptian buffalo
The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of season, year of calving and parity on lactation period, calving interval, number of days open and dry period in Egyptian buffalo, and to estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters for…
A survey of small-scale cattle farming systems in the North West Province of South Africa
A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among a purposive sample of 60 small-scale cattle farmers in the Mopeane Rustenburg district, all of whom owned five or more head of cattle. Results showed that small-scale cattle farming is a part-time activity for…
The effect of calving season and age at calving on production traits of South African dairy cattle
Lactation records of South African Holstein and Jersey cows were classified into six calving seasons and 18 age x lactation classes using several trials involving analysis of variance and estimation of fixed effects of calving age on test-day as well…
Phenotypic and genetic relationships between lamb and ewe traits for the Sabi sheep of Zimbabwe
Genetic and phenotypic correlations were estimated between lamb and ewe traits in a flock of Sabi sheep reared at the Matopos Research Station. Direct additive estimates of heritability were: 0.28 ± 0.04; 0. 17 ± 0.00; 0.25 ± 0.01; 0.39…
Genetic characterization of native southern African chicken populations: evaluation and selection of polymorphic microsatellite
This study presents the first results on the evaluation and selection of polymorphic microsatellite markers for the genetic characterization of native chicken populations in southern Africa. Blood samples for DNA extraction were obtained from five chicken lines from South Africa…
Evaluation of in vivo techniques for the determination of apparent ileal amino acid digestibilities in feedstuffs for piglets
Three in vivo techniques were evaluated in terms of their suitability for determination of the apparent ileal amino acid digestibility (AID) of protein sources for piglets. The techniques were: ileo-rectal anastomosis (IRA), cannulation at the distal ileum and a slaughter…
pH decline of the M. longissimus thoracis of night-cropped Grey Duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) (Short communication)
The effect of night cropping (shooting the animal in the head with a light calibre rifle) on the pH45, pH24 and rate of pH decline in the M. longissimus thoracis of 10 Grey duikers was investigated. A mean pH45 of…
A comparison of the yield, nutritional value and predicted production potential of different maize hybrids for silage production
The yield, nutritional value and production potential of silage made from twenty one maize hybrids were compared. The digestibility of organic matter and predicted intake, mean retention time and milk production potential were found to differ between hybrids (p <…
The use of crude protein content to predict concentrations of lysine and methionine in grain harvested from selected cultivars o
Correlations were determined between the crude protein (CP) and lysine or methionine concentrations of grain from wheat (cultivar: palmiet), barley (cultivar: clipper) and triticale (cultivar: usgen 19) grown in the Western Cape region of South Africa. Twenty samples of varying…
Sensory characteristics of meat and composition of carcass fat from sheep fed diets containing various levels of broiler litter
The effect of high levels of broiler litter in the diets of sheep on sensory characteristics and composition of fat in mutton was evaluated. Thirty-six South African Mutton Merino wethers weighing ca. 41 kg were randomly allocated to four treatment…
Performance of Nguni, Afrikander and Bonsmara cattle under drought conditions in the North West Province of Southern Africa (Sho
The performance of Nguni, Afrikander and Bonsmara cattle during the 1989-92 drought period in the North West Province of South Africa was compared. Results for the Nguni, Afrikander and Bonsmara, respectively were as follows: birth mass - 30.3, 30.2, 31.l…
A survey of goat production in the developing areas of the North West Province of South Africa (Short communication)
The survey was carried out over two years in the Taung and Kudumane districts of the North West Province of South Africa. Data were collected on the breed of goat, reasons for keeping goats as well as production data such…
Growth, carcass and sensory characteristics of m. longissimus lumborum from wethers fed silage diets made from maize or various
Growth, carcass characteristics and eating quality of meat from South African Mutton Merino wethers fed maize or different sorghum silage diets were studied. Forty newly weaned wethers (20 kg) were randomly allocated to 10 dietary treatments, viz. non-bird-resistant grain sorghum…
Phosphorus supplementation to natural pasture grazing for beef cows in the Western Highveld region of South Africa
Simmentaler cows grazing Cymbopogon-Themeda veld in the western Highveld region of South Africa (1985/861989/90) received three levels of phosphorus (P) supplementation. Dicalcium phosphate content of the supplement was manipulated to give intakes of 8 (CS), 4 (HS) or 0 (ZS)…
