At 69 weeks of age, fasting challenge was started on 100 laying hens by 31% body loss of the initial body weight.  Then, the chickens were randomly assigned into 4 groups and re-fed as follows, 1) restricted fed from 15 g of a commercial finisher diet on the first post molting day to 90 g of the same diet on post molting 10 day (restricted group), 2) ad libitum fed of a ground formula diet of starter (starter group), 3) ad libitum fed of a ground formula diet of grower (grower group) and 4) ad libitum fed of a ground formula diet of finisher (finisher group).  After 10 days treatment from post molting, all chickens were access freely to a commercial diet for layer.
    Feed efficiency was higher in the all ad libitum fed groups than in restricted fed group.  Among ad libitum fed groups, the highest feed efficiency was observed in starter group, and followed by finisher group.  Egg production was started on 11 th day after refeeding in starter and finisher groups, and hens started laying on 12 th day after refeeding in grower and restricted groups.  Furthermore, day of the egg production rate was recovered to 80% in starter, grower, finisher and restricted on 14, 15, 15 and 18 th day, respectively.  The egg production rate did not differ significantly among all groups after 18 days of refeeding.  During the experimental period, all hens survived and neither diarrhea feces nor reduction of egg production rate.
    Present results suggest that rapid recovery of egg production after force molting would be archived by improvement of nutritional condition on early stage of post molting, and ad libitum feeding method is most effective to improve egg production after force molting.

(Japanese Poultry Science, 39 : J164-J171, 2002)