Not needed at all. They cant properly digest it until 9-12 months anyways. At that point they can have fable food. 6 months minimum and all signs of readiness for anything other than breastmilk or formula. Or you'll stretch babys belly and run the vicious cycle of overfeeding... like the above poster.
Ask your doctor. We started her early cause the milk just wasn't cutting it she use to cry so much(cause of hunger-we didn't know) and my grandmother told us to try oatmeal
6 months. And you can completely skip rice cereal. There are no nutritional benefits to rice cereal
When your baby is showing signs of readiness. She should have good head control, sit upright with little to no support, open her mouth for the spoon, and not push it out with her tongue. We tried when my son was 5 months 3 weeks but he wasn’t really accepting of solids and willing to eat until 7 months. All babies are different.