Hey lum, welcome to the forum. Oxygen is actually helpful during the first half of the primary fermentation. The yeast utilize oxygen to make sterols for the cell membrane. It's recommended to bubble pure oxygen into the must every 12 hours for the first 3 days off primary fermentation.
Where oxygen is problematic is during the secondary. The must is no longer releasing carbon dioxide to protect itself and will be ageing in the carboy for 6 months or more. Here is my link blast that contains links to tons of trusted, good information that will help you along your journey:
The GotMead Modern Mead Making Podcast series on the procedure of making mead right:9-5-17 Ryan Carlson - Modern Mead Making - Yeast in Mead:
9-5-17-ryan-carlson-modern-mead-making-yeast
9-12-17 Ryan Carlson - Modern Meadmaking - Making Happy Yeast:
9-12-17-ryan-carlson-making-modern-mead-yeast-keep-happy
9-19-17 Making Modern Mead - SNA, Racking, Stabilizing and Aging:
9-19-17-ryan-making-modern-mead-snas-racking-stabilizing-aging
9-26-17 Making Modern Mead - Sulfites and Sorbates:
9-26-17-ryan-tom-repas-moder-mead-making-sulfiting-sorbating
11-14-17 Ryan Carlson - Modern Mead Making - fine tuning mead:
11-14-17-ryan-carlson-science-fine-tuning-mead/
The only significant, procedural question, you be left with by the end: How exactly do I cold crash?
Either Vicky or AJ on the podcast 9/25/18 define it as: Cold crash - place your mead (still in primary but gravity no longer changing thus no longer fermenting) in a fridge around 4C for 1+ weeks (generally 1-2 weeks). Helps with flocculation - or clearing the mead by getting yeasts/proteins to stick together.
*some dated information in those podcasts is the concept of degassing. They advise degassing on a schedule (2-3 times daily). Now generally accepted that degassing is only needed to avoid mead eruptions when adding nutrient additions rather than helping the yeasts avoid a toxic environment. Generally it is not done on a schedule but just prior to nutrient additions.
That's probably 10-12h of podcast. Quite a bit of it is banter/filler... but there is gold in there, even in the banter. I've listened to each of them at least twice; taking detailed notes!
The modern mead making series continues from there and they dive into specific meads like
pyments,
cysers,
Sessions,
Braggots
The primary - the period when the yeast are fermenting the honey
The secondary - the period when the mead has been racked off of the "gross lees" (sediment from primary) and the mead flavor is adjusted/augmented
Extra goodies I've found helpful:
A very help glossary:
https://morewinemaking.com/articles/wine_terminology - fermenters talk weird sometimes!
https://morewinemaking.com/articles/SO2_management additional information on how to sulfite stabilize your mead
https://www.bjcp.org/mead/Mead_Study.pdf - basically a book on this stuff. Some seems out of date but you'll be able to spot it after understanding the podcasts. very helpful section on "balance" & mead faults.
YouTube video on
Spirit indication test for determining the final ABV when additional sugars/liquids have been added or the original SG is unknown
TOSNA - Tailored Organic Staggered Nitrogen Additions calculator honey is nitrogen poor so mead needs nitrogen additions to support the yeast
https://morewinemaking.com/articles/Fining_finished_white_wine Information on agents used to help clear your mead. The BJCP "book" has information on this as well.
https://morewinemaking.com/articles/wine_bench_trials - how to perform a bench trial