The Goose of Flanders (Flemish Goose, Vlaamse Gans, Oie Flamande) is a rustic breed of domestic goose native to Flanders. It is renowned for its hardiness, quill feathers and superior quality meat and at one time was an important feature of the Flemish countryside. Throughout the 19th century these geese grazed freely in the orchards, meadows and fields and even along the roadsides of Flanders and much of Europe. Poultry merchants entrusted goslings to goose keepers and their dogs, who surveyed large flocks. In return the goose keeper received one franc per head, and the right to pluck quills four times.
Imde was once home to one of the most important flocks of Geese in Flanders. The Ganzenhof ‘Goose House’, home of the goose keeper of Imde still stands besides Imdenhof today. From here the goose keeper could herd his flock through the fields and orchards of Imdenhof. Legend has it that the goose keeper would collect a monthly sum from the Baroness in return for maintaining the lawns and the orchard floor neatly mown with his flock of geese.
Originating as a descendent of the greylag goose, the Flanders Goose was selectively bred in Western Flanders, from where the offspring soon found their way to France, the Netherlands and Germany, gaining recognition as a symbol of Western European alliance. The 20th century however saw a sharp decline in populations, with the industrialization of agriculture and the arrival of new crops, plummeting demand for feathers and the preference for specialized commercial meat breeds.
By 1994, in Belgium, there were only 30 females and 20 males of the breed recorded. Despite a revival in breeding programs by farmers and conservationists dedicated to preserving one of the emblems of Flanders and more generally of all historical Netherlands the World Conservation Union still classes the Flanders Goose’s conservation status as critical today.
The Flanders Goose can still be seen grazing the roadsides, meadows and orchards of Imde today. Imdehof is dedicated to conserving the breed, and runs one of Belgium's largest flocks of Flanders Geese.
