# Wild Goose



## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Any experience with raw wild goose? I have some de-breasted goose carcaii coming my way (assuming the hunt is good. The hunter told me to expect 20 carcaii). 

For my prey model experiment these are arriving mostly intact. With feathers! OMG, it's going to be interesting because the two dogs I have here have always been kibble fed.

I'm planning on a 3 week deep freeze and chucking a carcaii out in the yard with a dog. 

Unless I can find a use for the feathers. I haven't plucked a poultry before, but there's always time to learn something new. How much down can I get from 20 birds?

Anything I should be aware of for feeding wild goose carcaii?


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## Konnie Hein (Jun 14, 2006)

My only concern would be the ammunition that might still remain in the carcasses.


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Konnie Hein said:


> My only concern would be the ammunition that might still remain in the carcasses.


It's being hunted for human consumption, so I'm assuming that they won't be hunting with a shotgun.  Worst case scenario is having to do an "exploratory" :gross: I'm thinking seriously about plucking the [email protected] things so I should be able to find where it was shot and if the ammo is still in the bird. OMG. Bloody stiff feathered bird wings. :shudder: This will be an adventure! :lol:


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## Guest (Mar 9, 2009)

Well, you can't shoot geese on the ground, and I'm pretty sure it's illegal to shoot rifles and arrows up into the air.

Re: lead shot

Not_ supposed_ to.

Page 9.

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/regs/08Waterfowl.pdf


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## todd pavlus (Apr 30, 2008)

Up here in NY lead is illegal for waterfoul, which means, there will likely be steel or tungsten. I used to hunt geese, and there was always a few steel shot left in the bird


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## Yuko Blum (Dec 20, 2007)

Freezing would probably be a good idea. Fed wild goose meat throughout last winter (froze it first) and while my dogs seemed a little suspicious of it, they ended up eating it all with no issues. Didn't seem too crazy for it though.


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

Anne Vaini said:


> Unless I can find a use for the feathers. I haven't plucked a poultry before, but there's always time to learn something new.


I understand it is easier to just skin the bird. If the breasts are already removed you should be able cut the bird down towards the tail, stand on the feet and pull the skin and feathers off in one shot. (disclaimer) Thats what worked for me with partridge.


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Geoff Empey said:


> I understand it is easier to just skin the bird. If the breasts are already removed you should be able cut the bird down towards the tail, stand on the feet and pull the skin and feathers off in one shot. (disclaimer) Thats what worked for me with partridge.


Ooo! Thanks Geoff! Do I need to cut off the wings first then? Something about dead bird wings is seriously disturbing to me.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Well, from a preparing-for-humans standpoint, a large pot of water is brought to a boil and the bird is dipped in for a few seconds. Remove it and see if the feathers are loose. If not, dip again.

My understanding is the the colder the bird, the harder the task, from refrigerated to room temp to dipped-in-boiling-water.


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## Michael Wise (Sep 14, 2008)

Definitely watch for shot. It will be steel or an alternate shot like Todd already mentioned.

I also 2nd Geoff for skinning, or at least partially skinning.

Some dogs don't do feathers. Turbo does if there isn't anything else on his schedule. 

I haven't fed goose, but figure that their feathers have to be similar to a wild turkey, which I have fed fully clothed before. Those things are tough. The bigger feathers, especially when you get closer to the wings are very thick.

A goose is going to have a lot of feathers for insulation. It might be a turn off for the dog if they've never dealt with feathers before.

Or who knows, they may love plucking them, too.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

todd pavlus said:


> ... I used to hunt geese, and there was always a few steel shot left in the bird


That would be my biggest concern, I think.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Good call on the freezing ~3 weeks. Sarcocystis is the main parasite found in wild fowl like duck and goose that we discussed in class. Freezing it for that duration is acceptable.


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Is there any concern on shot being left in the bird other than
1) Potential damage to teeth
2) Potential for heavy metal (lead) exposure

??


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## Michael Wise (Sep 14, 2008)

My main concern would be teeth.

Assuming all is legal in the harvesting of these birds, then the shot used will be non-toxic.


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## Michael Wise (Sep 14, 2008)

I have a mini-metal detector that is used to find shot in game birds.

At first I really liked it, and found shot with it. Now, I'm not sure if it needs calibration because it missed some lead shot the last time I fed wild turkey.

If you know someone that has a REAL metal detector, see if they would let you use it.


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

Anne Vaini said:


> Ooo! Thanks Geoff! Do I need to cut off the wings first then? Something about dead bird wings is seriously disturbing to me.


If you want, pretty easy to lop them off too. Wings have little meat any ways, though the dogs probably wouldn't care and the bones would be good for teeth cleaning. Just use a Sharp Cleaver, Axe, Machete etc. 

I always used to use my Tomahawk to clean partridge, I never used a knife. The Tomahawk was kept sharp though! Find a solid log or something else solid to work on. I liked to have my surface at chest level it's easier and safer to use edged tools at that orientation. 

Basically you part the feathers along the breastbone, slice the skin from neck to tail, then spread the feathered skin until meat on the chest and legs is exposed. Run your edged tool along both sides of the breastbone to start skinning the bird. Peel back the skin on the legs and thighs. Get your hands under the skin and step on the feet and it should all peel off easily. You should be able break the joint loose on the thigh and cut each leg / thigh combo off if you want as well. Though I'd only remove the legs and package them separate if I needed more room in the freezer.


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Anne Vaini said:


> Any experience with raw wild goose? I have some de-breasted goose carcaii coming my way (assuming the hunt is good. The hunter told me to expect 20 carcaii).
> 
> For my prey model experiment these are arriving mostly intact. With feathers! OMG, it's going to be interesting because the two dogs I have here have always been kibble fed.
> 
> ...


Look them over for steel shot and worms. Other than that goose is great, like roast beef. When's dinner???


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

Howard Gaines III said:


> Look them over for steel shot.


When you skin them 'not' pluck 'em it is easy to see the entry points of the shot for removal.


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Geoff Empey said:


> When you skin them 'not' pluck 'em it is easy to see the entry points of the shot for removal.


Geoff I've heard of skinning a cat. Same style done on geese? LOL
100% correct, this is the way I do all waterfowl and for that reason. Fat is fat. If the skin is remoced, you can see 90% of the shot holes on the bird.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Just a side bar on skinning.
A wild turkey has very little body fat. After skinning wrap it in bacon before baking. 
Doubtful that a goose will be short on fat though.


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## Megan Bays (Oct 10, 2008)

If you used bird shot, and missed a couple pieces when cleaning, would it really hurt the dog if it ingested it?

B/c the shot is just really small beebees, correct?

I wouldn't intentionally feed it, but would it be necessary to worry about trying to remove every single one?


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