Babies can eat chicken from 6 months, when they start solids. Chicken is a choking risk until age 4 (chewy in chunks), so serve it in the shape for your baby's age below. At 6 months: moist slow-cooked thigh or breast in a long flat strip about 7 cm by 3 cm to gnaw, or shredded fine and mixed into mash. Why so big: babies this age grab with the whole hand, so a finger-sized piece with a bit sticking out of the fist is easiest to hold and gnaw, and gnawing helps them learn to chew. Feeding themselves carries no more risk of choking than being fed with a spoon; always stay with your baby while they eat.
- Other names and forms
- chicken thigh, chicken breast and poultry
- Start
- 6 months, when solids begin
- Choking risk
- Until age 4 (chewy in chunks)
- Common allergen
- Not one of the nine major allergens
- Iron
- 1.2 mg per 100 g, an iron-rich food
- Textures
- Mashed and finger food
How to cut and serve chicken by age
6 to 8 months
Moist slow-cooked thigh or breast in a long flat strip about 7 cm by 3 cm to gnaw, or shredded fine and mixed into mash. Why so big: babies this age grab with the whole hand, so a finger-sized piece with a bit sticking out of the fist is easiest to hold and gnaw, and gnawing helps them learn to chew. Feeding themselves carries no more risk of choking than being fed with a spoon; always stay with your baby while they eat.
9 to 11 months
Shredded or finely chopped, or a soft patty at least 5 cm across to squeeze and bite, or torn into pieces about 1 cm. Why smaller now: between about 9 and 12 months babies learn to pick food up between thumb and finger, and small soft pieces let them practice. Babies who don't move on to lumpy food by about 9 to 10 months are more likely to have feeding difficulties later.
12 months until age 4
Tender shreds or thin, irregular pieces about 1 cm from the unsalted family meal, never cubes.
Age 4 and up
Once your child chews well, sliced chicken from the family meal, cooked through, every bone, the skin and gristle removed, eaten sitting down; keep cutting it if not.
Sito shows this card at your baby's exact age, for 583 foods.
Choking: why the shape matters
Why chicken is a choking risk: chewy in chunks. Until age 4, serve it only in the shapes above. The AAP names chunks of meat among the foods to keep from children under 4.
The AAP also advises supervising mealtimes, having children sit down when they eat, and taking a CPR and first aid course.
Iron and other nutrients
USDA figures per 100 g (Chicken, roasting, meat only, cooked, roasted): iron 1.2 mg, zinc 1.5 mg, calcium 12 mg and vitamin A 12 mcg. Babies aged 7 to 12 months need 11 mg of iron a day, according to the NIH, so iron foods matter from the first meals. Household measures from USDA: 1 cup is about 140 g.
Starting Solids in the Sito app
Sito is our app. From 4 months, the home screen is Starting Solids: the signs of readiness, how to serve each of 583 foods at your baby's age, and a quick log for every taste. Spears to grip or mashed on a spoon, each food's card shows the shapes that fit your baby's age, and swipes ahead to how it changes as they grow.
The Allergen Ladder takes 9 common allergens, one at a time, with a check-in after each. At 12 months the full app opens on its own: meals from a photo, 18 nutrients, and how to cut every food until age 4.
Every first food, served right
Add your baby and Starting Solids opens at 4 months.
FAQ
When can babies eat chicken?
From 6 months, when your baby starts solids. Chicken is a choking risk until age 4, so follow the shape for each age.
How do you cut chicken for a 6-month-old?
Moist slow-cooked thigh or breast in a long flat strip about 7 cm by 3 cm to gnaw, or shredded fine and mixed into mash. Why so big: babies this age grab with the whole hand, so a finger-sized piece with a bit sticking out of the fist is easiest to hold and gnaw, and gnawing helps them learn to chew. Feeding themselves carries no more risk of choking than being fed with a spoon; always stay with your baby while they eat.
How do you cut chicken for a 9-month-old?
Shredded or finely chopped, or a soft patty at least 5 cm across to squeeze and bite, or torn into pieces about 1 cm. Why smaller now: between about 9 and 12 months babies learn to pick food up between thumb and finger, and small soft pieces let them practice. Babies who don't move on to lumpy food by about 9 to 10 months are more likely to have feeding difficulties later.
How do you cut chicken for a 12-month-old?
Tender shreds or thin, irregular pieces about 1 cm from the unsalted family meal, never cubes.
Sources
- AAP HealthyChildren: Choking Prevention for Babies & Children
- CDC: When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods
- CDC: Foods and Drinks to Avoid or Limit
- NHS: Your baby's first solid foods
- NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- USDA FoodData Central: Chicken, roasting, meat only, cooked, roasted
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Iron
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Zinc
- WHO: Complementary feeding
- WHO: WHO Guideline for complementary feeding of infants and young children 6-23 months of age (2023)
- USDA FSIS: Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart
- CDC: Safer Food Choices for Children Under 5 Years Old
- AAP HealthyChildren: Movement Milestones: Babies 4 to 7 Months
- CDC: Important Milestones: Your Baby By One Year
- ESPGHAN: Complementary Feeding: A Position Paper by the ESPGHAN Committee on Nutrition (2017)