java.text.Format subclasses should implement formatToCharacterIterator. New class added in ICU4J 3.8 does not have the implementation yet.
While we reimplemented MessageFormat/PluralFormat/etc. for ICU 4.8, we discussed whether we want to write an attribute for the # plural number replacement. In the ICU meeting 2011-mar-02 we decided against it. (No one needed that information.)
For details see the "Questions & Decisions" page under the "MessageFormat 2011q1" design page: http://site.icu-project.org/design/formatting/messageformat/2011q1/decisions
Unless/until we change our mind, it seems like the default Format.formatToCharacterIterator() implementation should suffice for PluralFormat.