A family in the west Auckland suburb of Massey woke up on Sunday morning to find a seal in their backyard.

Jadzia Pyne said her mum woke her up just before 6am to show her the aquatic mammal sitting in their Huruhuru Rd driveway.

Ms Pyne's mother had woken up to the sound of the family's chickens "going crazy".

"The seal came up through the backyard and the chickens went off," Ms Pyne told Newshub.

The chickens weren't the only animals stirred by the unexpected guest - Ms Pyne's cat tried to scare the seal off, forcing it to retreat into the backyard pond.

Ms Pyne is unsure how the seal got onto their property, located about 1km from Henderson Creek.

"There's a creek down the road, but it's so far away [from the ocean]."

The family phoned the Department of Conservation (DoC), which Ms Pyne said was "trying to find someone to deal with it".

A DoC spokesperson said seals can end up inland when they swim up creeks.

"If people find them they should call us to move them and not try to do this themselves - a seal bite can be very dangerous."

Newshub.