I live in SC and compost my poultry bedding. I use pine chips. I use the deep litter method, and it is more "ready" when I clean out. Wood chips take time on their own. If you clean out frequently, and want to compost, chopped straw would compost faster. Also finer ground shavings, if you turn it regularly. It packs down, and needs to be aerated frequently. One problem with wood shavings, is that it outlasts the nitrogen. My bedding compost breaks down (for the most part) in three months. Only the newest bedding has not finished. It sits until a garden portion is empty. Then I till it in. It finishes breaking down in the soil, over the next growing period. What I do not need then, is used as mulch on my fruit trees, vines, and bushes. Everything less my blueberries.