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Consider the following:
You’ve spent time learning about backyard birds and you’ve read that many absolutely adore eating healthy peanuts. You noticed that many of the birds in your backyard are really tiny, so you wanted to give them a peanut product that even the littlest birds could eat.
Which brand should you choose? That’s the question currently holding you back from finally feeding the beautiful winged creatures that frequently visit your property.
I’d like to lend a helping hand in this regard. I’ve tested more than one peanut product and found out that Lyric Peanut Pieces were the Best Peanuts to feed outdoor wild birds in my humble estimation.
How did I come to this conclusion?
I spent many hours testing, researching, and analyzing my results. And the backyard birds themselves also helped me come to my final decision.
I performed my test based on the following criteria:
- Nutrient Quality
- Energy
- Messiness
- Freshness
- Taste & Enjoyment
- Ease of Consumption
After evaluating each product based on the criteria mentioned above, I was easily able to compare them to each other and also see how the birds reacted to each product.
Would you like to see the results of my comparison testing? Keep reading to learn why I believe Lyric Peanut Pieces are the Best Peanuts available on store shelves today.
Lyric Peanut Pieces
- Weight: 7 pounds
- Feeder Type: Hopper, Wire Mesh
- Dimensions: 9.75” x 7” x 5”
- Attracts: Blue Jays, Nuthatches, Juncos
- Brand: Wildlife Sciences
Overall Score:
88
The Bottom Line:
At the end of the day, Lyric Peanut Pieces are truly a vigorous and tasty treat that backyard birds including blue jays, flickers, woodpeckers, and chickadees prefer a great deal. They contain healthy amounts of protein and fat, which makes these pieces an excellent meal for a wide array of birds. And since this product doesn’t contain any fillers, you aren’t wasting your money on stuff that birds wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole.What’s Good
- No mess formula
- Contains healthy fat and protein
- No fillers
- Makes a great snack
- Tasty
What’s Bad
- Peanut shells are messy
- Moldy
- Higher price point
Our Verdict: Lyric Peanut Pieces
I have to admit that when I first started reviewing products to determine the best peanuts, I didn’t expect the peanut pieces from Lyric to be the big winner.
Why not?
Well, I unfortunately didn’t think it all the way through. I assumed the larger whole peanuts would have been a bigger hit amongst the birds.
But…
After testing Lyric Peanut Pieces along with Wild Delight Shelled Peanuts and Kaytee Shelled Peanuts I finally figured out one key piece of the puzzle.
Smaller birds have a difficult time carrying whole peanuts in their little beaks. Once I made this connection, I knew that Lyric Peanut Pieces was a far superior choice.
And the best part?
Backyard birds are totally enamored with peanuts! Which is phenomenal, because they contain lots of protein, a wide array of healthy fats, and they give these little birds massive amounts of energy.
Want to know another interesting fact?
Not all of the peanuts are totally broken up into pieces. Some still remain in their shell and they’re available in whole form.
This is good for the larger birds that need bigger sources of energy. They can easily fit whole peanuts in their beaks and they can fly away and eat them privately or gobble up these healthy treats immediately after pulling them out of the bird feeder.
You couldn’t ask for more, right?
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Our Analysis, Comparisons & Test Results
During the testing and analysis phase, I took a long and hard look at three products before I ultimately determined that Lyric Peanut Pieces are the best peanuts for birds.
The other products I reviewed include:
- Wild Delight Shelled Peanuts
- Kaytee Shelled Peanuts
Fairness is of the utmost importance when I perform these detailed tests. Each product is tested for two weeks. And during the testing phase, I not only see whether or not the birds actually like it, I also research the product thoroughly online and read previous reviews and other information that I can gather.
Are you ready to learn the truth about the testing phase? You’ll find out the answers right now.
Energy
In the Energy category, I rated these peanut pieces with an 80 out of 100 ranking. This is an excellent rating if I do say so myself.
Why wasn’t it higher?
Truth be told, I likely could have rated it higher since the level of fat in these peanuts is 40%. That’s a lot of energy to derive from something as simple as a peanut.
But…
I’m somewhat concerned that 40% fat is a little too high. The birds might suffer and gain too much weight if they ingest too many of them. And I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that it’s unhealthy to feed young nestlings peanuts because the fat content is too high.
So, these little guys definitely pack a lot of energy into their small package, but there’s always the concern that they might be too fattening.
How the Lyric Peanut Pieces stacks up in the energy ratings:
Freshness
The category Freshness is a whole different story altogether. It’s my pleasure to tell you that I gave these peanut pieces a score of 90 out of 100.
And the best part?
I didn’t come across too many people complaining about the quality of these peanuts online. Hardly anyone said that they opened the bag and noticed they weren’t fresh.
A few people complained that they were a bit expensive, but only one past customer said that the company was sending old stock that wasn’t as fresh as it should be.
Personally, I did not ever receive “old stock” and I was always happy with the quality of the peanuts that I received. But I take everything into consideration and since this one person had a problem with the quality, I decided to remove one point from the total score.
How the Lyric Peanut Pieces stacks up in the freshness ratings:
Messiness
This category is somewhat tricky so I gave Lyric Peanut Pieces a total score of 80 out of 100 for Messiness. And if you ask me, this is an excellent rating when you compare it to the other peanut products that I reviewed.
As I mentioned…
Some of the peanuts in this package are whole and still in the shell. When the birds begin to eat whole peanuts, they crack open the shell and it makes a mess all around and underneath the bird feeder.
This can be somewhat annoying to clean up because ground feeding animals like chipmunks and squirrels tend to leave peanut shells alone.
On the other hand:
Kaytee Shelled Peanuts and Wild Delight Shelled Peanuts unfortunately made a complete mess every time. Each one of the peanuts was in a shell, so the birds left peanut shells all over the place whenever they would eat them.
As you can imagine, I had to continuously clean up underneath the bird feeder to get rid of all of the shells from these two peanut brands.
With the Lyric peanuts, I had less to clean up since roughly half of the contents of the package were peanut pieces that were already removed from the shell.
There’s definite cleanup with each of these products, which is why I removed 2 points from my rating, but out of the 3 Lyric Peanut Pieces were the best in this category.
How the Lyric Peanut Pieces stacks up in the messiness ratings:
Nutrient Quality
For the category Nutrient Quality, I give this product a 90 out of 100 rating, which I truly believe is a fair assessment.
The overall nutrient profile of peanuts is as follows:
- 40% Crude Fat
- 25% Crude Protein
- 6% Crude Fiber
- 12% Moisture
I expressed my concerns about the overall fat content earlier so I will not go into further detail.
On the other hand, 25% protein is an excellent amount of energy and nutrition to provide growing and healthy backyard wild birds.
6% fiber is also great because it will help the birds with digestion and other potential health-related issues, so this is certainly a good thing.
Surprisingly, I did not expect peanuts to contain 12% moisture. They typically seem dry to me most of the time, but I guess that’s because as a human I’m used to eating roasted peanuts.
In this case, more than half of the peanuts are raw. This means they likely still contain a healthy amount of moisture, which is certainly a good thing for the birds.
How the Lyric Peanut Pieces stacks up in the nutrient quality ratings:
Taste & Enjoyment
From a Taste & Enjoyment standpoint, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that I gave this product a 100 out of 100 ranking.
And why not? Who doesn’t love peanuts! Humans, birds, and lots of other animals enjoy this tasty treat – especially squirrels, chipmunks, and other ground dwelling creatures.
I cannot say for certain why, but the birds that like to fly around my backyard tended to enjoy Lyric Peanut Pieces better than the other two products that I tested at the same time.
But I have a hunch:
For starters, it makes sense that the smaller birds like Lyric better because the pieces were actually small enough for them to eat! They couldn’t enjoy whole peanuts because they couldn’t actually eat them, which may not technically judge the taste but it bears mentioning regardless.
And another thing…
The peanuts in the Lyric package really seemed to be roasted all the way through. They had a dark brown texture and rich smell that I personally love whenever I eat peanuts, so I have to assume the birds also enjoy them.
Can I say for certain that this is the reason why the birds love Lyric peanuts? Absolutely not, but it’s definitely what my gut is telling me and if you think about it, it certainly makes sense.
How the Lyric Peanut Pieces stacks up in the taste & enjoyment ratings:
Lyric Peanut Pieces FAQs:
Do You Know If Lyric Peanut Pieces Were Previously Roasted?
Although it doesn’t say anything on the packaging, I have it on good authority that the peanut pieces in this package are a mixture of roasted peanuts and raw peanuts.
How do I know?
For starters, I can visually see that there are raw and roasted peanuts within the package. And I can tell even further as I take them out of the packaging whenever I add them to my feeders to feed the birds.
On the other hand:
You do not need to trust my judgment alone. Popular pet website Chewy also confirms that the manufacturer provides a blend of roasted and raw peanuts in each bag.
Backyard birds love eating peanuts. It’s best to give them roasted peanuts with no sugar or salt added as this is the healthiest option. But they’ll eat raw peanuts too, and believe it or not, they absolutely adore eating peanut butter!
Is It Dangerous To Feed Peanuts To Wild Birds?
The short answer is no, it is not dangerous to feed peanuts to backyard birds.
On the other hand, it isn’t wise to feed raw peanuts to parrots, which obviously isn’t a backyard bird but this seems relevant to share anyway.
Raw peanuts contain aflatoxin, which is a toxic substance to the liver and can be very dangerous for parrots to eat.
Otherwise, it’s safe to feed peanuts to wild birds like jays, cardinals, buntings, and woodpeckers to name a few backyard birds that absolutely love them.
On a side note, birds need the high fat content in peanuts during the freezing cold months in the winter. They need foods with more protein during the summer.
They also care for their new nestlings during the spring and summer, and these baby birds are too small to consume the high fat content in peanuts.
What Should I Do If Lyric Peanut Pieces Are Still Too Big For Little Birds To Eat?
On occasion, I’ll hear about unhappy customers saying that the tiniest birds in their backyard still have a difficult time eating Lyric Peanut Pieces because the package contains a combination of whole peanuts as well as pieces and peanut halves.
I understand that this can get frustrating, and it was a problem that I once faced as well, but I came up with an easy solution.
I use a food chopper fairly regularly to prepare meals. I thought, “Why not use the chopper to break up my peanut pieces into even smaller fragments?” This turned out to be an excellent solution.
Now: even the tiniest birds like chickadees, house finches, and American goldfinches can eat my peanut pieces without any difficulty at all. The pieces are so small that these little guys have no trouble grabbing them, holding onto them, and flying them to a comfortable spot where they can eat them in peace and quiet.
Our Final Verdict: Lyric Peanut Pieces
I’m incredibly pleased that you chose to spend some time diving into the detailed analysis of information that I provided within this guide. Ultimately, I’ve determined that Lyric Peanut Pieces are the Best Peanuts available to buy from your favorite local stores or online retailers.
I truly hope that my guidance helped simplify the process of choosing the ideal peanuts to feed your favorite winged friends.
I mainly chose this product because it provides important benefits to keep birds healthy and strong. A few of the reasons I chose it include:
- It’s not as messy as whole shelled peanuts. Some of the peanuts are whole and many others are in pieces, which means there are fewer shells to clean up
- Birds absolutely love the taste and can’t seem to get enough of them
- It’s a highly nutrient dense nut with ample amounts of healthy protein and fat
- It doesn’t contain fillers, which also means cleanup is much easier
- It doesn’t contain germinating seeds, so you will not discover unwanted weeds growing underneath your bird feeder
Do you aim to begin offering beautiful wild birds a variety of different bird feed or bird seed in the near future? I’d like to help you choose the best bird seeds because I’ve spent countless hours testing and reviewing them and I’ve discovered my 10 favorites. Read my recommendations for the best bird seed here.
Or, if you prefer…
Get an up close and personal look at the thoughts of former customers and also learn up-to-the-minute pricing info about Lyric Peanut Pieces.
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