I also wouldn't recommend deep litter for ducks. It works great for my chickens, but I tried deep wood chips in my duck coop and. Even if you don't keep water in the coop, ducks poo water..or rather, poo slime. Within one day, every chip of that litter was a soaked, slimy, slippery disgusting mess. And oh the flies.
I'm buying some pea gravel tomorrow to try micheller's lime and gravel method.
I would disagree with this, because I would recommend deep litter for ducks. I've only been using it for a few weeks, but so far the maintenance on it is so easy and simple that it makes it really worth it. I've got water AND feed in my coop for the ducks, but I've built my own food and water box that allows all of the spillover to fall into a container below it. My coop has 3 layers: 1 layer of pea gravel, 1 layer of sand, and 1 layer of deep litter. I separate the layers with landscaping fabric so the materials don't get mixed together and also so that no weeds or bad things can come up through the litter. It's probably the most effective drainage system in my entire yard. The ducks stay dry and when the bedding gets wet, all the moisture falls through. Stir the bedding once a day and it stays fresh and stink-free. After trying sand as the only bedding, this is so much more hassle-free and totally worth the investment in time to set it up properly.
I'll post some pics when I get around to taking some.
