When Martin Vella is rudely awoken every morning, he groans and tries to cover his head with his pillow in a bid to go back to sleep.

But the crowing of the cocks that can be clearly heard from his bedroom makes this nigh impossible, even though it will be hours before his alarm clock goes off.

"They start crowing at the crack of dawn and go on until late in the morning, sometimes starting again in the afternoon. It's a racket out here," he said.

The birds have set up home on an abandoned stretch of land on Capuchins Street in Kalkara. Although hidden under shrubs and trees, the cocks and hens can be clearly heard, their crowing and cackling piercing the atmosphere in the otherwise quiet street.

He said it all started around a year ago, with a couple of hens and cocks which have not gone forth much, but multiplied a lot.

Mr Vella said residents had long complained about the poultry, which are leaving their feathers all over the pavements and causing a rancid stench in the summertime. He believes they are a health risk.

But Kalkara mayor Michael Cohen, who lives across the road from the field, said most residents have taken to the poultry and are treating them as pets.

"They are fascinated by them and leave food and water. It is not an everyday sight," Mr Cohen said, adding that only one person complained about these feathered friends.

"I do not think that the hens and cocks are posing any danger," Mr Cohen said when contacted, and therefore he has no intention of taking steps to remove them.