Definitely poo-collecting arrangements needn't take up floorspace.
What are the benefits of a "poop board" over a shallow box underneath with pine shavings or straw in it? I would think the latter would be easier to clean out rather than having to scrape poo daily. Or am I missing something?
Being able to spend 10 (literally) seconds (literally) a day cleaning the poo board is actually an ADVANTAGE of the board over a box/pit/tray/whateverelse. If you ask me. Because in those 10 (literally) seconds (literally), you are removing about half the daily poo output from the coop, which means you are COMPLETELY REMOVING about half the ammonia and a good fraction of the humidity that the chickens produce.
This is especially valuable if you are a little less than ample on the ventilation, or are trying to minimize the need for cold air coming in during wintertime.
So I think the decision between a board vs a box-type arrangement depends whether on your style of management. If you're going to scrape it off every day or few days, a board is by far the easiest; if OTOH you prefer to let the manure pile up for a while, you will want something deeper, that you can toss some shavings in, and preferably that you can screen to minimize them stomping around in it.
I'm not kidding, though -- ten seconds is plenty time for a *leisurely* scrape of a 6-8' droppings board, you just snowplow it off into a bucket you hold in your other hand.
(e.t.a - I have nestboxes under mine. You can see one pen's setup in the sussex photo on my personal page, link at left under my username. I would not recommend food or water under a droppings board unless it is *quite* amply wide - meaning at least 18" for a single roost. Speaking from having tried this with a 16" board
)
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
