OK Run. I hunt big lakes for divers with rowboat. Seldom field hunt for waterfowl.
Waxing is my preferred way of removing down and pinfeathers after birds are rough plucked and wings and feet removed. use the head for dipping in hot water with melted stripping wax on top. That is how poultry is made so clean for the market. The wax is usually sold as 'turkey stripping wax" and comes in big blocks. When you get it right all the wax comes off in just a few pieces and goes right back into the kettle. I use a big one that will wax a whole swan or goose.
The synsacrum is the plate of fused ribs at the rear of the vertebral column. I twist it off when I clean ducks as described earlier.
I note that canvasbacks sold for ten times the price of mallards in the market hunting days. I'm sort of like you with geese. I cut breasts into finger size pieces, bread, and bake.
