<P> Forced molting simulates the natural process where chickens grow a new set of feathers in the Autumn, a process generally accompanied by a sharp reduction or cessation of egg production . Natural molting is stimulated by shortening day lengths combined with stress (of any kind). Before confinement housing with artificial lights was the norm, the Autumn molt caused a seasonal scarcity of eggs and high market prices . Farmers attempted to pamper their flocks to prevent the molt as long as possible, to take advantage of the high prices . Modern controlled - environment confinement housing has the opposite problem; the hens are not normally presented with sufficient stress or cues to go into molt naturally . However, after laying almost daily for nearly a year, their rate of egg production declines, as does the quality of the eggshell and the egg contents . In addition, the hens are overweight . </P> <P> It is sometimes claimed that forced molting is an artifact of modern intensive farming, but the practice predates the vertical integration of the poultry industry by decades; former Head of the Poultry Science Department at the University of Maryland, Morley A. Jull prescribes a precise molting program in his 1938 book, Poultry Husbandry . </P> <P> For a complete recovery of the reproductive tract, the hen's body weight must drop by 30 to 35 percent during the forced molt . This is typically achieved by withdrawing the hen's feed for 7--14 days, sometimes up to 28 days . This induces the birds to lose their feathers, cease to lay eggs and lose body - weight . Some programs combine feed withdrawal with a period of water withdrawal . Most programs also restrict the amount of lighting to provide a daylight period that is too short to stimulate egg production, providing a simulated autumn, the natural time of molt and minimum egg production . </P> <P> Forced molting programs sometimes follow other variations . Some do not eliminate feed altogether, but may induce a molt by providing a low - density diet (e.g. grape pomace, cotton seed meal, alfalfa meal) or dietary manipulation to create an imbalance of a particular nutrient (s). The most important among these include manipulation of minerals including sodium, calcium, iodine and zinc, with full or partially reduced dietary intakes . These alternative methods of forced molting have not been widely used by the egg industries . </P>

How to force a chicken to lay eggs