Ammonia

[chickens really]

I would never do deep litter method with Ducks. They don't turn the bedding so it rots when wet.
I'm here in Alberta with constant freezing temperatures. I chop out frozen straw and replace as needed. My Ducks eat outside and have a heated house.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Might depend where you live but here in the mountains of Western NC I use deep litter and have for a long time works great here. I do go In daily and clean out frozen ( depending on temp) or wet then turn and fluff. Works for me! I also use Sweet PDZ

 

[Musolff2015]

Make sure that there is enough air circulating through your duck-house. Ducks have no problems with freezing temperatures (muscovies do to some extend), if they are dry and protected from the winds (no drafts) they are warm and happy.
Open everything during the day, doors, windows and ventilation flaps and let the air circulate.

We have an L shape coop raised a foot with an 8'-6' slanted roof. 3x6 has duraslat floor for ventilation and the duck door as well as the regular size door that i leave open on warm days. The 4x8 area has linoleum floor and 4ft panel walls with the remaining 4' hardware cloth. We do have 1 side of the hardware cloth loosely covered as all the snow was blowing into the coop. With only 7 ducks is more than enough roof and ventilation. They also have a 6x10 attached run and free range the yard from sun up to sun down. Seems im doing everything right so i dont get it

 

[chickens really]

We have an L shape coop raised a foot with an 8'-6' slanted roof. 3x6 has duraslat floor for ventilation and the duck door as well as the regular size door that i leave open on warm days. The 4x8 area has linoleum floor and 4ft panel walls with the remaining 4' hardware cloth. We do have 1 side of the hardware cloth loosely covered as all the snow was blowing into the coop. With only 7 ducks is more than enough roof and ventilation. They also have a 6x10 attached run and free range the yard from sun up to sun down. Seems im doing everything right so i dont get it

I put up vapour barrier plastic to stop wind and have a covered run.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have used Baking soda mixed in my deep litter, large bags from Sams club. Couple cups sprinkled over an mixed in. Mixing it in it isn’t dusty at all and it helps neutralize smell. There is going to be more smell in winter our birds are inside longer than during warm months but with PDZ or baking soda and cleaning we can keep the ammonia smell to a minimum.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I had mixed results with deep litter too, it always started to smell bad after longer periods of wet weather, when the pouring wet ducks went into the house and settled down into the bedding. What helped me are three factors:

1. The duck-house is above ground and there are gaps between the floor boards through which air can circulate into the bedding. - Sheer coincidence as the previous owners built this platform.
2. The house is strictly divided into a living room and two bedrooms. No food and/or water is allowed in the bedrooms - except for momma duck and her little ducklings.
3. I just don't shush the ducks into their house in the evening, they get a nice supper-bowl, so if they are wet, they first stay in their dining/living room gobbling down some delicious fodder, before going into their bedrooms. So most of the water in their feathers stays out of the bedding.

I just cleaned out the duck-house yesterday and most of the bottom layers of straw have started to compost somewhat, but did not smell too bad. We had a lot of rain over night and that has compacted the huge pile and shifted the composting process into high gear, so the pile was steaming this morning… It was like the old straw was just waiting for some moisture to start the decomposition.

 

[DuckyDonna]

I would get the water out of their night time pens. They can do without it during the night. That will cut down on a lot of mess.

I do deep liter but every single morning I go into the pens and gently fork out the flat poo pancakes they leave for me. I try not to take too much of the good hay, just the poopy pads. I add more hay when needed. Mine is about 8" to a foot thick now and I add more hay when it gets down. I do toss the hay each day for air circulation. My pens don't smell at all.

I am in Georgia though so I don't have the cold temperatures that you are dealing with.

 

[Musolff2015]

I have used Baking soda mixed in my deep litter, large bags from Sams club. Couple cups sprinkled over an mixed in. Mixing it in it isn’t dusty at all and it helps neutralize smell. There is going to be more smell in winter our birds are inside longer than during warm months but with PDZ or baking soda and cleaning we can keep the ammonia smell to a minimum.

They are still in the same amount unless its -10 or below. I did consider baking soda, i also buy bulk from sams for laundry and cleaning. I was told its an absolute no for compost... i did get pdz 2 days ago and it didnt help at all. I have a different thing coming in the mail that is said to be much better so hopefully it will help otherwise ill try baking soda

 

[Miss Lydia]

What’s coming in the mail? Please be sure to give a review if it works.

 

[DuckyDonna]

They are still in the same amount unless its -10 or below. I did consider baking soda, i also buy bulk from sams for laundry and cleaning. I was told its an absolute no for compost... i did get pdz 2 days ago and it didnt help at all. I have a different thing coming in the mail that is said to be much better so hopefully it will help otherwise ill try baking soda

you know I've tried pdz too and don't see that it does a thing. Am I doing it wrong? what exactly is it supposed to do?