Is this a printed book?
No. It’s a PDF you download right after checkout, laid out to print cleanly at home on US Letter paper. A phone edition with one column and large type comes with it, for reading on your phone.
I’m new to chickens. Is it for me?
Yes. It’s written in plain language and starts with what normal looks like. Experienced keepers use it as the one place to look when something is off.
Does it replace a vet?
No. It helps you act in the first hour, judge how urgent a problem is, and give a vet the information they need. It also shows you how to find a poultry vet before you need one.
Who wrote it? Did a vet check it?
Oakfeather, a small independent publisher. We’re not veterinarians, and no vet reviewed the book. That’s why every health recommendation is tied to a public source, such as USDA, CDC, a university extension service or the Merck Veterinary Manual, with links at the back, and why anything we couldn’t trace was left out.
How did you check the health advice?
Each health recommendation in the handbook carries a small number that points to one of 35 public sources, listed with links at the back. If we couldn’t trace advice to a source like these, we left it out. Four of them:
Names appear as citations only: none of these organizations reviewed or endorsed the handbook.
My nearest poultry vet is an hour away. Will it help?
Yes. The First Hour gives the steps to take right away, in order, and the book lists who else to call when birds are sick, as USDA gives them: your Cooperative Extension office, your State Veterinarian or state diagnostic lab, and USDA’s free line. The Symptom Finder says which signs can’t wait.
What’s the Flock Tracker?
A web app that comes with the handbook. Open its link from your download email on your phone and add it to your home screen: it opens like an app and works offline. Log eggs, the daily check, each bird’s weekly hands-on, health notes and a quarantine countdown, and keep your vet’s number one tap away. There’s no account and no app store. Your records stay on your phone, and you can back them up or export them to a spreadsheet anytime.
Do I need an internet connection?
Only to download the files and to open the Flock Tracker the first time. After that, the PDFs and the app work offline.
Can I give it as a gift?
Yes. At checkout, turn on “Give as a gift” and enter their email address. Because it’s a PDF, you can also print it at home and give it in person.
Does it cover ducks, turkeys or quail?
No. It’s written for chickens, bantams included.
How do I get it?
Right after checkout you’ll receive an email with your download: the handbook to print, the phone edition, and the link to the Flock Tracker. Keep it: you can download the files again from that email. Nothing after a few minutes? Check your spam folder, or write to support@oakfeatherpress.com.
