Can you freeze chicken?
You can freeze some kinds of chicken
1 of 2 kinds freeze well; 1 should stay out of the freezer.
whole
Up to 12 months
pre-packaged, luncheon/deli meat
Not recommended
What the freezer time means
Freezer times from USDA FoodKeeper are about quality, not safety. Food kept frozen at 0 F (-18 C) stays safe indefinitely; what changes over the months is texture, moisture and flavour. Wrap chicken tightly, press out air, and label the pack with the date so the window above is easy to track.
Thaw in the fridge, not on the counter. Anything that thawed in the fridge can be refrozen, with some further loss of quality; anything left at room temperature for more than 2 hours should not go back in.
Storage habits that make the difference
Keep raw poultry in the coldest part of the fridge on a tray to catch any drips, and cook or freeze it within a day or two of purchase. Freeze in its original packaging or an airtight bag if you cannot use it in time. Thaw in the fridge or in cold water, never on the counter.
Can you freeze other poultry: fresh?
Source: USDA FSIS FoodKeeper dataset (public domain). How we decode the data.