The Braekel apparently derives from same extended population of gold and silver chickens which gave rise to the closely similar Ostfriesische Möwe and Westfälischer Totleger breeds.

[citation needed] For Belgium, population numbers reported to DAD-IS were 1500 in 1994 and 125 in 2013; the local conservation status was listed in 2023 as 'unknown'.

[9] A straight banding pattern of the feathers and a uniform solid neck colour are characteristic of the Braekel.

[citation needed] The Entente Européenne lists ten colour variants, of which only the gold and the silver are recognised.

[6] Braekel hens lay well from the age of six or seven months, and in a year may produce approximately 180 white-shelled eggs weighing 60–65 g.[8]: 44