Brakel is a village near the market town of Aalst/Alost, north-west of Brussels in Belgium. The Brakel fowl was once kept on almost every farm and smallholding in its home area, and was generally more important in Belgium than the neighbouring breed, the Campine, which became better known in other countries. There is still an active Brakel Club in Belgium. Brakel males, which have normal cock feathering, are easily distinguished from the hen-feathered Campine males. The females of both breeds are very similar, but Brakel hens are heavier and stockier.