Revealing mistake: During the holdup at the bank, while the bank robber's holding Asa's broken gun, when Andy motions to Asa to duck out of the way in the closeup we can see the two thin wires to the left and right pulling the gun apart.
Visible crew/equipment: When Barney walks into the bank dressed as a woman, we can see the two curved chalk actor's marks on the floor behind the teller.
Answer: It was a joke. They were supposed to be dumb hillbillies.
Both. According to later interviews with both Andy and the Dillards band (the real name of the band that played the parts of the Darling children, of which Charlene (Maggie Peterson - Mancuso was also a member) the reason the Darling boys never had any lines was because they would've had to have been paid if they spoke. In return for appearing without lines or pay, Andy promised to get as much of their music onto the show as possible which, he did. This obviously gave them a lot of exposure.