Can mice/rodents spread disease to rabbits?

[LolaE]

Hello everyone.

We're coming into winter, and recently I found a few mice in the laundry room, where I store the bunnies' hay and pellets. The little family of three seemed to be living in the big box of meadow hay (other hays are sealed tight, safe), and they also ate their way into the Burgess pellets.

I freed the mice to the outdoors and haven't seen them since (about two weeks now). I also replaced the meadow hay and the pellets (even though the pellets were pretty much brand-new), just to be safe.

Anyway, my main concern is: can/do mice spread disease to rabbits? I thought they could, which is why I got rid of everything the mice had touched. But how big of a concern is it? My rabbits are in a pretty well-enclosed room in the house, so I don't think the mice can get to them, but I just wanted to check.

Thanks.

 

[JBun]

It's always a possibility for rodents to spread disease to rabbits, through their urine and feces. But there's no way to know how much of a concern it is, as it just depends on if the individual mice are carriers of anything. So it's always best to store a rabbits food where it's protected from contamination by other critters, whenever possible. But it's impossible to completely protect it from contaminants, as hay does come from a field where other critters reside. You just have to do your best to limit the exposure.

 

[LolaE]

Okay, great. That's kind of what I figured, but just wanted to make sure. Thank you!