I just switched to the less expensive option of buying a whole bale of hay at a time but last night me and the boyfriend realized that in one of the bins there is a mouse. This does not surprise me but I was wondering how other people handle this.

I've never had an issue with mice in my hay. Where are you storing your hay and how? The preservation hay really depends on how and where it is kept.

Alive? Set down a humane trap. We had a mouse in our shed where we kept the guinea pigs in England, and my mum just went to a hardware store and bought this trap. It's shaped a bit like this '_/' and you set a bit of mars bar (Mice are quite partial to a mars bar, we found that out after several days of the trap being laid and nothing happening, then, mars bar, and BAM! Mouse caught! Hehehe!) and wait. It has a door on the other end of the flat bit, and you put your mars bar in the end of the diagonal bit. The moment he walks onto the diagonal bit to get the mars bar, it tips shut so the diagonal bit is flat, and the door shuts and stays closed via a magnet. My dad then took the mouse in the trap, drove about 45 minutes away and let it out in a field. Bye bye mousey.
Dead? Get rid of the hay, it'll be contaminated and then switch to a different hay bale supplier.

P.S Sorry if my trap description was rubbish and confusing!

I just replied to another mouse thread lol It's that time of year. I honestly don't think it poses a health risk as mice live in the fields where hay is grown so they already are all over that hay before you buy it and bring it home. There is no field that doesn't have critters in it. I've seen rounds get loaded and 20 mice will run out of one round bale. However if there is a lot of soiling in the bale I would toss it and get a new one. Like bunny girl said just use a trap and make sure your bunny doesn't have access to it.

I would take it back to where you bought it before tossing it and tell them you didn't buy any mice and want your money back.

Mice/rats will always be attracted to hay for one of the reasons our bunnies are: it's warm. The mice did not necessarily come with the bale but may have got in since.

If you're buying full bales from a farm supply store, or straight from the farm, then finding critters and such is going to happen. Just to clarify, was it a live mouse or a dead one? I've found dead mice, killed in the haying process, but never of a live one, holding on until you get home!

lol well i heard it digging in there but haven't heard anything for a few days. I really don't feel like sifting thro it for a dead mouse. Yuck!