Hedges are laid to
- create a stock proof barrier to keep cattle and sheep in a field.
- keep livestock out of a field to prevent the spread of livestock disease.
- regenerate an overgrown and dying hedge.
- improve the habitat for small field and hedgerow animals as well as birds.
- give wind protection, prevent soil erosion.
- thin an overgrown hedge to gain more space in the field.
Gappy hedge
A thin hedge full of gaps. It has plenty of holes for the sheep and lambs to escape and does not offer very much protection to nesting birds from predators or the weather.
Stockproof hedge
The same hedge after laying