Forced molting through feed withdrawal was used to extend laying hen productivity, with the practice banned or phased out in many countries due to severe welfare concerns.
Feed withdrawal molting causes intense and prolonged hunger that is among the most acute welfare harms in conventional egg production. Hens without food for 5-14 days experience starvation-level hunger, weakened immunity, and behavioral indicators of severe stress. The mortality from molting shows that some proportion of hens die from the treatment itself. Non-starvation alternatives achieve similar production goals without the acute suffering, making feed withdrawal an unnecessary harm. Consumer and retailer pressure has driven meaningful progress on eliminating this practice.