A St. John's company that processes chickens has been told to find a quieter way to scare off wild birds after a series of neighbours' complaints.

Residents in the area near the Country Ribbon plant complained to city hall about the loud sound system that the plant was using to keep crows and seagulls away from its caged chickens.

The Country Ribbon plant processes chicken in the Pleasantville neighbourhood in the east end of St. John's. (CBC)

The plant, in the Pleasantville neighbourhood in the city's east end, uses what's called an electric scarecrow, which plays recordings of random loud noises.

City hall has received dozens of complaints in the past few weeks, some noting the noises come at strange hours.

"It has been annoying the tenants on the front of the building," said Linda Sprague, who lives in an apartment building nearby.

David Blackmore, city hall's director of public buildings, said Country Ribbon has been instructed to come up with a better way to protect the chickens.

"Certainly we would like to know what's happening, especially if it's just turning the noise devices back on again," Blackmore said.

"That's not something we want to see, because it's causing a disturbance. But again, if it's an issue that if it's the only way to deal with this issue, then that's something we're going to have to work together on to solve."

A spokesperson from Country Ribbon said other chicken processors use the same type of sound system. However, the plant will stop using the equipment for the time being, and look for other ways to shoo away the wild birds.