Duck housing and mating questions!

I'm pretty new to owning ducks! I have 4 call ducks in my backyard, in a large fenced area that also attaches onto my green house. They have a house I built, a pool and lots of natural west coast forresty type area to dig in all day. I got them when they were adults, they hate me and I can't seem to form a bond with them so I'm anxiously waiting for them to lay eggs.. I have 2 males and 2 females and they've been running out of their house in the morning and jumping in the pool to mate, like almost every day. Im on Vancouver Island and we've had a pretty abnormally mild winter so far - no snow yet, barely freezing. For those of you using the "deep litter method" I think it's called??? How? I can't, I open their house in the morning and am slapped in the face with such stink, they can't be enjoying themselves in there?? Or can they? I don't know? I end up switching their bedding out often because of this. I don't put food and water in their house in hopes of it cutting down on them pooping in there so much..no luck though. For bedding I use this moisture reduction powder stuff from Shar Care, and wood chips at the bottom, against the floor and then straw on top. On nice days i open the roof all day to let some fresh air flow through too. But, is this just how it is and it's fine and I can stop worrying? Or am I missing something?

And then with mating.. how long after mating will they lay eggs?? I'm not comfortable putting a heat lamp inside of their wooden house full of straw and wood chips 😂 I have string lights up outside in their area on a timer so that they get additional light with the days being short right now. I also put 2 fake eggs in their house hoping they go in there to lay when they need too, they trampled them and pushed them near the door lol. I search the bushes in their fenced area too to make sure they're not laying there, or if they are, that I'm not missing them. Can I do anything else?

Thank you in advance for any advice or suggestions!

I'm pretty new to owning ducks! I have 4 call ducks in my backyard, in a large fenced area that also attaches onto my green house. They have a house I built, a pool and lots of natural west coast forresty type area to dig in all day. I got them when they were adults, they hate me and I can't seem to form a bond with them so I'm anxiously waiting for them to lay eggs.. I have 2 males and 2 females and they've been running out of their house in the morning and jumping in the pool to mate, like almost every day. Im on Vancouver Island and we've had a pretty abnormally mild winter so far - no snow yet, barely freezing. For those of you using the "deep litter method" I think it's called??? How? I can't, I open their house in the morning and am slapped in the face with such stink, they can't be enjoying themselves in there?? Or can they? I don't know? I end up switching their bedding out often because of this. I don't put food and water in their house in hopes of it cutting down on them pooping in there so much..no luck though. For bedding I use this moisture reduction powder stuff from Shar Care, and wood chips at the bottom, against the floor and then straw on top. On nice days i open the roof all day to let some fresh air flow through too. But, is this just how it is and it's fine and I can stop worrying? Or am I missing something?

And then with mating.. how long after mating will they lay eggs?? I'm not comfortable putting a heat lamp inside of their wooden house full of straw and wood chips 😂 I have string lights up outside in their area on a timer so that they get additional light with the days being short right now. I also put 2 fake eggs in their house hoping they go in there to lay when they need too, they trampled them and pushed them near the door lol. I search the bushes in their fenced area too to make sure they're not laying there, or if they are, that I'm not missing them. Can I do anything else?

Thank you in advance for any advice or suggestions!