Streptococcosis is quite common among all kinds of infectious diseases of poultry. It has other names: sleeping sickness, idiopathic streptococcal peritonitis and others. Streptococcosis can be acute, subacute and chronic. This disease is characterized by depression, arthritis, paralysis and/or conjunctivitis.
The first signs of infection with streptococcosis are severe ruffled feathers, drowsiness for a long period of time, sticking of the eyes. Sometimes chickens even experience convulsive movement of the limbs and head, as well as intestinal upset. It looks like they have a respiratory disease. The bird stops rushing and eating, respectively, becomes exhausted, it develops diarrhea and a depressed state appears.
Chronic streptococcosis is no less dangerous than acute, but in this case the bird does not die. She develops immunity, and she becomes potentially dangerous for the rest of the livestock, as she is a carrier of an infectious disease. Chronic streptococcosis is accompanied by severe malnutrition of the chicken, lack of appetite, intestinal upset, inflammation of the joints of the legs, catarrh of the upper respiratory tract. Of all poultry species, chickens are the most susceptible to this disease. The organisms of other birds: geese, ducks and others are more resistant to the disease.
Streptococci can be controlled with high temperatures. 80 degrees are fatal for them. At this temperature, they die in five minutes. You can also act on streptococci with the help of solutions: creolin, carbolic acid and lysol. They destroy germs in two to three minutes.
If treatment is started immediately, chickens can still be saved. Otherwise, they will die in a day or even earlier.
The bird is placed in a separate room, isolated from the rest of the livestock, and the nursery (hen house) and all equipment must be disinfected.
Treatment is with penicillin and oxytetracycline. Its duration is 4-5 days.
