Upland makes a good point as to the identification. We simply skin the birds. Starting at the breast, tear a hole in the skin and start to pull. The skin comes off pretty easy if you do it fresh. In Iowa and Minnesota, a head, wing, or leg is necessary for ID. We cut the head and wings with a ratchet pruner as you would use in a garden, great tool for this. We also cut off one foot at the knuclke. We then gut the birds and rinse the cavity. We keep the gizzards and hearts, don' t care for the livers, but one of my buddies gives them to his dog. (I think this is a bad idea, but thats another topic.) After getting home, I cut off the other leg at the knuckle. This is the slick part. Remember the wings are already gone. Make a slice down the back of the bird, right along the spine with a sharp knife, Doesn' t have to be deep, just to the bone Now put your two thumbs b/t the neck and breast and with your index finger pinch the neck and breast and pull. The breast is now in one hand and the back and thighs and legs in the other. I then slice down the back and seperate the thighs from the back. I then seperate the thighs from the legs at the knee. I bone out the thighs and leave the breasts on the bone. I put the back & legs in a stock pot with celery and seasoning and make pheasant rice soup with the stock. If you cool the legs, the meat seperates from the little pin bones easily. I package the thighs and breasts seperately and vacpack them. I usually clean the gizzards and fry them up that night as the treat. I know this seems like a lot, but I can clean, dress, and package 6 pheasants in about a half an hour. ' Corse, I grew up on a farm in Iowa and we raised A LOT OF CHICKEN