New to deep litter with ducks!

[jilljb18]

I have 6 week old ducklings in an outdoor duck house full time. They occasionally get out for swims and other adventures, but I haven't opened their daytime run to them yet because I'm trying to grow some grass and other things in there first. Right now I'm focused on trying to figure out how to manage deep litter within their duck house. See attached photos. I am keeping dry and wet separate in the duck house, however, it seems like the straw is getting damp and ammonia smelling way faster than what I've read I should expect online. For example, after my first failed attempt (due to poor water management - but now I think I've got that sorted), I started again with brand new dry straw on Sunday. I also added a little sprinkle of 'coop and compost' (Zeolite). I've been raking/turning the straw everyday and added a little more coop and compost on the second day and again this morning (because I wasn't sure how much to use at first, and it started to get smelly). This morning, I noticed the straw is damp-ish and already starting to smell of ammonia. Attached is a picture just after I raked. It's only been 5 days! Is it normal for straw to start smelling after 5 days? It was a bit rainy earlier this week so we had the duck house closed up for a few days (there's about 2 inches of ventilation on three sides at the top just below the roof), but I'm confident rain did not get into the house. We live in Northern Arizona so generally not a wet climate. The floor on the 'dry' side is vinyl. Do you think this is a ventilation problem, or is this normal when starting deep litter? Do I just need to add more dry straw even though it's only been 5 days?

FYI, the straw waddle is a bit of an experiment and I don't think will last long in there - I think we'll instead build a higher barrier on the one side to delineate the wet and dry portions of the duck house.

I would love some advice on how to make deep litter work in this situation or just better understand what might not be working with this set up. Thank you!

 

[ruthhope]

I have 6 week old ducklings in an outdoor duck house full time. They occasionally get out for swims and other adventures, but I haven't opened their daytime run to them yet because I'm trying to grow some grass and other things in there first. Right now I'm focused on trying to figure out how to manage deep litter within their duck house. See attached photos. I am keeping dry and wet separate in the duck house, however, it seems like the straw is getting damp and ammonia smelling way faster than what I've read I should expect online. For example, after my first failed attempt (due to poor water management - but now I think I've got that sorted), I started again with brand new dry straw on Sunday. I also added a little sprinkle of 'coop and compost' (Zeolite). I've been raking/turning the straw everyday and added a little more coop and compost on the second day and again this morning (because I wasn't sure how much to use at first, and it started to get smelly). This morning, I noticed the straw is damp-ish and already starting to smell of ammonia. Attached is a picture just after I raked. It's only been 5 days! Is it normal for straw to start smelling after 5 days? It was a bit rainy earlier this week so we had the duck house closed up for a few days (there's about 2 inches of ventilation on three sides at the top just below the roof), but I'm confident rain did not get into the house. We live in Northern Arizona so generally not a wet climate. The floor on the 'dry' side is vinyl. Do you think this is a ventilation problem, or is this normal when starting deep litter? Do I just need to add more dry straw even though it's only been 5 days?

FYI, the straw waddle is a bit of an experiment and I don't think will last long in there - I think we'll instead build a higher barrier on the one side to delineate the wet and dry portions of the duck house.

I would love some advice on how to make deep litter work in this situation or just better understand what might not be working with this set up. Thank you!

I use pine shavings rather than straw for deep litter. They are more absorbent of liquid poop and odors. I also use pine shavings in my brooder and tip that out onto the little trails my ducks make in the garden, to control any mud in the rainy season [from now through the summer months.] Once the ducklings at about 6 weeks old, they can last without food and water overnight. My ducklings go outside when the nighttime lows reach 65F and are rising. My current ducklings have been outside now for 2 weeks: I don't have duck food or water in the duck house. That reduces the amount of poop and wet bedding to a small amount that can be covered with clean dry pine shavings every day.