best advice ever..."not wet or stinky" LOL. I am using deep litter method with my coop and 4 chickens. Keeping about 4-6inches of litter. I just stir it up every other day or so. It smells like pine shavings, dusty though, and I am not sure what to do about the dust factor or if it is due to the shavings mostly.I don’t look at it as “all that”. It could be something as simple as a sheet of plywood under the roosts or get some plastic bins and set them on the floor. Or just clean it up when it builds up, whether that is daily, weekly, or whatever schedule works for you.
I use a droppings board because I want the pure poop to go into my compost bin. I don’t want any of the bedding mixed in with it. For some people that is not a problem at all.
Don’t worry too much about what is best for the chickens. Think more about what is best for you and is more convenient for you to do. As long as the coop does not get wet or stinky the chickens will do fine. The important thing is to find a method that works for you to achieve the not wet or stinky.