The Braekel or Brakel is a traditional Belgian

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of chicken. It is thought to have originated in the area of

Brakel Brakel () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek and the Flemish Ardennes. The name is derived from a Carolingian villa ''Braglo'' first mentioned in 866 and located in the center of Opbrakel. Since 1970, t ...

, in the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

, for which it is named. There is a bantam version of the Braekel. The

Campine The Campine ( French ) or De Kempen (Dutch ) is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands. It encom ...

of the United Kingdom derives from it.

History

The Braekel apparently derives from same extended population of gold and silver chickens which gave rise to the closely similar

Ostfriesische Möwe The , nl, Groninger Meeuw, italic=no, is an old German breed of domestic chicken. It is a rare breed: in 2016 the recorded population in Germany consisted of 215 cocks and 979 hens, in the hands of 130 breeders. Its conservation status is , "en ...

and Westfälischer Totleger breeds. It is thought to have originated in the area of

, in the

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

, and particularly in the villages of Opbrakel and Nederbrakel; and to have spread along the valleys of the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

and Dender rivers, in East Flanders and into Hainaut. In 1884 two distinct types were recognised as separate breeds: the larger Braekel of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, and a smaller and lighter type from the

region to the east. In 1898 a Braekel

breeders' society Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members o ...

was established in Nederbrakel, and a breed standard was published. In 1926 the separate Braekel and Campine breeds were brought together again under a single breed standard. In the United Kingdom a very different

breed was created, probably through cross-breeding with pencilled

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

s. The principal difference is that cock birds display

hen-feathering Hen feathering in cocks is the occurrence of a genetically conditioned character in domestic fowl (''Gallus gallus domesticus''). Males with this condition develop a female-type plumage, although otherwise look and respond as virile males. Hen-fe ...

, which was not seen in the Belgian type. The Braekel population declined during and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and it is a rare breed.

Characteristics

The Braekel is a light breed; cocks weigh and hens Bantam cocks weigh about and hens about Ring sizes are and for standard-sized cocks and hens, and and respectively for bantams. A straight banding pattern of the

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...

s and a uniform solid neck colour are characteristic of the Braekel. Several colour variants exist, with the gold and the silver variant being the most common.

Use

Braekel hens lay well from the age of six or seven months, and in a year may produce approximately 180 white-shelled eggs weighing

References

__NOTOC__ Chicken breeds originating in Belgium Chicken breeds Animal breeds on the GEH Red List {{Poultry-stub