Eliza, if you leave a brace of pheasants for a day or two, the skin and feathers will come off together - no need to pluck. I used to do this, then tear the birds open and apart to empty the crops and guts. Never used a knife. Then washed the parts in cold water and placed them in a nice deep pan with a bottle of red wine (opened of course), seasoning, carrots, leeks, onions - and anything else I fancied. Then popped 'em in the oven on a low heat for a long time.

Delicious! I remember going to my (then) local pub some years ago - Steve, the landlord, had been given a brace by a local drinker. Steve had put them in his fridge but couldn't face the drawing, so he offered them to me for free - and I grabbed them. He brought them out and I hung them over the back of a chair in the bar while I was finishing a pint. A couple of "foreigners" (strangers) walked in, saw the pheasants draped over the chair - and left with horrified faces...

My wife, when she was small, had a large, fierce black cat that used to nick hens from the next-door smallholding and bring them to the doorstep. Her Dad had to pay his neighbour for them!