Non-pitted fruit tree branches/twigs? What exactly are those?

[sophistacavy]

I'm just a bit confused. I heard on here to offer only non-pitted fruit tree prunings to cavies to help their teeth.

So, peaches, for example, are a pitted fruit. No peach tree twigs? Why not? What does the pit have to do with it?

Where can I get them from? What are some examples of appropraite chews for piggies?

Are the bark things in pet stores safe?

[Percy's Mom]

Non-pitted fruits are apples and pears primarily. The pit in a peach, plum, nectarine, or other fruits with a large center pit can be poisonous, and this can spread into the branches.

[sophistacavy]

Oh dear, I just bought peach twigs, I'll return them tomorrow for apple ones, thank you so much!
Where can I get an economical amount of apple and pear branches that are organic? Can they be ordered online? I would also use them for my African Grey parrot, because she chewed right through her yellow cow-wood(or whatever its called) perch, so she likes long branch like wood stuff to gnaw on. I hope my piggies like them as well, and my rats too!

Are the bark things in pet stores safe?

[Ly&Pigs]

Pitted fruit trees contain toxins that are poisonous to pigs. But yet the fruit itself after it's been pitted is fine. It's something in the tree or pit itself. I've fed peaches and cherries to my pigs before with no ill effects.

Appropriate chews for pigs would be apple branches, willow branches, untreated pine branches.

I'd avoid the bark things.

[Ledasmom]

You might want to ask around and see if anyone you know has an apple tree in their backyard. You'd need to make sure it hasn't been sprayed and that nothing around it has been sprayed with anything toxic, of course. We have a number of volunteer apple seedlings that we cut up for our boys.
The pitted fruits (generally called stone fruits by gardeners) are in the Prunus genus: cherry, apricot, peach, plum; almond, though it's a nut and not a fruit, is in the same genus. There are many crosses between members of this group, plumcots, pluots and such, as well as many ornamental cherries that may not bear fruit or bear few fruits.

[sophistacavy]

Thank you Ledasmom and Ly&Pigs! I live in Asheville, North Carolina, with a lot of very rural parts nearby, so I shouldn't have a hard time finding even an organic "donor tree".