If you want a guarantee as to the suitability of the auction in Jefferson, I would defer to the opinions of an experienced farmer/breeder. That there is good and bad in any demographic goes without saying. I can tell you, there were a lot of birds; chickens, ducks, and even a peacock and peahen, when I was there. Also, there was a guy in ill health who had to sell off the majority of his herd, which would account for the abundance of goats there that night. I can also tell you, the farmers/breeders there will inform you whether the animal you're considering is not up to par. Granted, the informant may not be the seller. But finding out one way is as good as another, I think. Anyway, you just have to listen.
Regarding the Darlington auction, hubby and I've often said we would like to go there, but the time they're open is inconvenient for us to go as a couple, or else it's not Thursday when I think of going on my own. That's a joke. Can you imagine? Ha! But you gotta know the good ol' boys in Darlington to appreciate the humor in it, maybe.
By the way, I've been in SC since 2001. -K
By the way, I have, like six reddish orange chickens, maybe eight that are all black, three or four that look blue or purple in the sun, a few that are black with reddish orange mixed in on their breasts, some buff colored ones, two barred rocks, (these are the only two I can identify by breed), one that is white with kind of lacey rust lining its wing feathers. Also I have some smaller ones, which are black with white on their breasts. They're more aggressive, and not my favorites (frying pan fodder). I have one who looks just like a dove, and is just as sweet but exceedingly larger than a dove. By the way, I call her Dove. Then there's Einstein, who is speckled with black, rust, and white. He's smarter than the rest, but especially smarter than Rosco, whose one of my biggest. He is more mottled than speckled but mostly gray with black lacing. Gloria is my female barred rock and she has issues with getting in and out of the hen house. She hesitates momentarily btn just hopping out or flying out. Then, she gets herself together and flaps really hard, gets some lift and flies out. I cheer her on every morning. Except for the little black and white @#!#$s, my chickens are, in my opinion, very large. I think they're mostly purebred, but unless I separate them, their offspring won't be. I started w/ 26, one died w/n days of getting them, my four-year-old knelt on another (a black and white one) and the other day, the wind blew a piece of plywood onto another and broke its back. It took the perspective of one very sage individual on this site to help me through that. I thank that person but can't remember the name. Anyway, gtg. -K