Tailless birds???

[mustangsaguaro]

So far this year I have had 2 people as well as myself end up w/ what I consider tailless birds. I sold eggs to one person and she sent me pics of her bird and was asking me if the bird was a male or female as she can't have males where she lives. And to top it all off this bird has no tail feathers. I also had another person buy day olds from me a few months back and she ended up w/ tha tailless bird too. One is a Lavender the other a Lavender split. I also have one younger than these two I mentioned that has a lack of tail feathers too. It's a lavender as well. Has anyone ever seen this in there birds?

My questions lies in here. I think I need to get rid of the bird (rooster or hen) that is producing these birds but how do I figure out who the culprit is. Out of these 3 birds, 2 are lavenders and one is a black. I did have 2 black split hens and my roosters are both lavenders. So seeing that one of the offspring is black could I deduce that it is coming from the females side? Not knowing a lot about genetics any input any can give me on this anomaly would be greatly appreciated.

I have attached pics of the two older birds. I will try to get a pic of my younger bird tomorrow. As for the black bird can anyone confirm if this is a male or female? After looking at the pic again I am pretty sure it is a male. I just need confirmation from someone with more experience.









Thanks

[John]

They don't look rumpless so I would not be concerned.  They do look like they need more time for their tails to grow.  Maybe in a couple months they will fill out.

[Mike Gilbert]

It is quite common for tail feather follicles to be damaged if they are picked out while they are young.  Even if they don't grow tails now, after the first adult molt the tail will probably come in, but may not have the shape that nature intended.  That black one appears to have a cushion or rose comb - are you sure it isn't crossed with something else?  It is hard to tell from that photo if it is male or female, because the lack of lighting obscures the saddle and hackle feathers.    You can easily tell if a bird has a missing tail or is just missing feathers by feeling that area to see if there is what is commonly called "the parson's nose," which is properly known as the uropygium.

[mustangsaguaro]

That black one appears to have a cushion or rose comb - are you sure it isn't crossed with something else?

I am positive it is not crossed w/ something else. I only have 2 males and both are lavs and both have the pea combs. And I have 2 black lav split hens so I know this bird hatched from one of their eggs.

Thanks for the explanation on the slow to form tails or that it could have been caused from being picked as as a chick by other chicks.

Reason why I thought the black was a male is the feathers around it's neck do lock to be a bit on the pointy side. The saddle feathers at this point are difficult to tell. I have had 2 birds in the past that I swore were females ended up being males. I guess some take longer to mature thus the appearance of a possible female.