Welcome to BYC @pmbourque !
This is a very old thread and you're not likely to get an answer from that now inactive member....but I'll take a stab at it.
You can eat any chicken of any gender at any age, but depending on breed and age there may not be much meat or older birds are too tough to do anything but stew them.
'Meat birds' are often the hybrid Cornish Cross that are slaughtered and eaten at about 8 weeks old, they are meaty and tender as they have been hybridized to be that way. These are similar to the chickens you buy at the grocery store.
This thread pertains to eating excess males that come in 'straight run' layer chick orders, or are hatched by the keeper for replacement layers. I slaughter and eat my excess males by 16 weeks old, while still tender enough for the grill and before they start causing too much trouble trying to mate the females. Not much meat on them, but are delicious with crispy grilled skin, and the grilled bones make a great stock.
