I use them a lot, mostly primaries. I think they're pretty durable if they are split & ground vs. being stripped and if they are trimmed down close to the oil line. Virginia has a huge resident Canada goose population, and I usually pick up a bunch when they are molting in June (I check ponds around office developements and local parks; you have to be quick to get them before the lawnmowers chew them up).
As far as the meat goes, it can be tough if you get an old bird. The problem with lots of waterfowl is if you cook them whole like a chicken to where the breast meat is cooked through, the meat dries out and the legs are like meteorites. I suggest cooking the breast of a young bird separately and only cooking it to medium rare, medium at the most. Keep the skin intact or it will likely dry out (covering the top with strips of bacon helps, too). The breasts are also good cut into cubes, marinated and shishkabobed, again to medium rare/medium doneness. The rest of the carcass- legs, back and wings- can be simmered in water to cover until the meat falls off the bones, and then the stock and meat can be used in gumbo, etc. I have also had success cooking birds whole in a brown-in-bag; stick a piece of celery, a peeled onion and a cut-up Granny Smith apple in the cavity, rub the skin with softened butter, put the bird breast down in the bag, add a cup of dry white wine to the bag, seal it and cook it according to the directions on the brown-in-bag box for a turkey or chicken of the same weight (the bag cooks with moist heat and keeps the meat moist and tender). Game meat usually has less fat than meat from domestic animals and it benefits from either long cooking with moist heat or quick cooking at higher temperatures to a lesser degree of doneness. Just my $.02...
Will
