Hi barfly,
Do you have any pictures of this grow in full flower for us? The reason I ask is because its often times, if not nearly impossible, to narrow down all possibilities without at least some point of reference or aid. And even then, you're not in the grow room itself, nor can you watch the growers habits routinely, so its an uphill battle attempting to draw any solid conclusions to these sort of things.
Some possible explanations could be extreme heat, this could adversely affect resin production and is one of a few explanations that come to mind immediately if you werent seeing potency in any of the females.
If the buds were not burning well, this is likely the result of a high nutrient diet without a proper flushing cycle or perhaps even cannabis which is not properly dried or cured? Though again it can be difficult to pin-point any solid problems without actually being present to see all methodologies and environmental situations.
The more information we can have, I think the more we can attempt to narrow down any issues and come to resolutions, solutions etc. which get everyone on the right track again.