Induced molting of laying hens - forcing them into a non-laying state to extend their productive life - historically involved starvation and continues to raise significant welfare concerns even with feed-withdrawal alternatives.
Feed withdrawal molting caused severe suffering - days of starvation in highly food-motivated birds. Hens subjected to feed withdrawal show stress behaviors, increased mortality, and suppress immune function to the point of increased Salmonella infection rates. Alternative molting programs using low-nutrient feed cause less acute suffering but still involve significant nutritional restriction and the physiological stress of forced reproductive system shutdown. Even post-ban, welfare concerns remain: many small producers and non-UEP-certified operations may not follow guidelines. The welfare cost of molting must be weighed against the alternative of hens being slaughtered after their first laying cycle - a complex ethical calculus with no clearly superior answer within current production systems.