SaintP, I'm sorry your squirrel disappeared. She probably was injured too badly to survive for long. Just a few comments in case anything similar happens again. (I used to work for Florida Audubon and did a lot with rehabbing at that time, even had a license to care for baby birds. We got LOTS of baby squirrels). First, Heather W is right that rabies is not a big concern with squirrels. There hasn't been a documented cases of a rabid squirrel in something like 65 years or more. For some reason, they seldom ever get it. Secondly, they CAN and will BITE like crazy, and it can be quite painful and get infected easily. So the advice (and your instinct) not to try to pick the animal up by hand were absolutely correct. Especially a squirrel in pain...you might be hurting them badly, and they would naturally bite in defense. And third, the advice not to call a vet does not hold true for all vets. Some are quite well trained in the care of birds and other wild animals and will gladly treat one. You just need to know if your vet is one of those or not. Believe me, I have carried countless injured birds to the clinic in Altamonte that Audubon used at that time. And other animals, as well. They were always treated when the vet felt it was possible to save their lives. So this all depends on the policy and training of the vet in question. And even my regular vet will advise me honestly on whether or not an injured animal is too seriously injured for me to take care of. If the animal is too far gone, he will euthanize for a minimum fee, but he has no problem in telling me how to care for an injured animal that he thinks can be rehabbed. I think you did your very best for this little squirrel, and probably made its last days much more comfortable. Good for you for caring so much! Marcia

After a couple hours of care the bird was able to fly away!

Yiou don't say where you live but I hope you find help and that you have hummers during the winter time. If not, you are probably going to have to raise it through the cold weather. You didn't ID the bird either so I am assuming it is a Ruby throated. Sorry, I don't have any help to give other than knowing they eat insects and need both nectar and protein to live. You must be doing it some good since its still alive. How was/is it hurt? Can it fly at all?

Glad to hear the bird was ok. There is a good bit of information on how to help an injured bird on the Bird Watching forum, it is at the top of the forum.