Hmm, I thought I read somewhere that if you shoot a dog in defense of your livestock that are not responsible for any medical bills. After all not all shot dogs end up dead. Maybe it varies by state?
So, you can legally kill, but not hurt, a dog that's attacking your birds? That's a stupid law. A dead dog can't learn.
That's what I was thinking. Shoot him in the rump from a window or behind a door or something.