I'd add bees to the mix.

Their products - honey, wax, propolis, bee pollen, pollination - are useful for sooooooooooooo many things preppers are keen on.

From April - Sept you can expect to spend an average of 30 mins per hive, per week to care for them. That's pretty easy to do.

I found that my 4 laying hens have paid for themselves when comparing to cheap, generic, white supermarket eggs when on sale 3doz/5.50. If you compare to the "better quality" supermarket eggs, I'm way ahead of the game. Taking into consideration that my coop was built with as much on hand lumber as possible.
Also, the dogs offer good security...sure they cost money to feed, vaccinate, etc. but absolutely NO ONE just walks right up to our door! Great alarm system.

You have to use logic. For self sufficiency i have chickens and ducks for eggs an meat, rabbits for meat, goat for milk, bees for honey and a big garden.
But as a prepper you have to be ready to feed them without buying anything . For example I feed my chickens and ducks with mashed potatoes that I grow (200-300 lbs ) in my garden, I feed my goats and rabbits with hey that I cut by hand and beets that I grow, I take only enough honey for my family use (200 lbs) and leave enough for bees for winter so I do not have to feed them.
It takes lot of prepperation and work.
Henry

You have to use logic. For self sufficiency i have chickens and ducks for eggs an meat, rabbits for meat, goat for milk, bees for honey and a big garden.
But as a prepper you have to be ready to feed them without buying anything . For example I feed my chickens and ducks with mashed potatoes that I grow (200-300 lbs ) in my garden, I feed my goats and rabbits with hey that I cut by hand and beets that I grow, I take only enough honey for my family use (200 lbs) and leave enough for bees for winter so I do not have to feed them.
It takes lot of prepperation and work.
Henry

Very sensible post Henry!

You have to use logic. For self sufficiency i have chickens and ducks for eggs an meat, rabbits for meat, goat for milk, bees for honey and a big garden.
But as a prepper you have to be ready to feed them without buying anything . For example I feed my chickens and ducks with mashed potatoes that I grow (200-300 lbs ) in my garden, I feed my goats and rabbits with hey that I cut by hand and beets that I grow, I take only enough honey for my family use (200 lbs) and leave enough for bees for winter so I do not have to feed them.
It takes lot of prepperation and work.
Henry

Sounds like you have put a considerable amount of work into your preparation, awesome work!

I like bees for sure.

Also Goats are a great choice

Hens and Rabbits...

Eggs and meat...

Quick and easy..

I am having good luck with quail and cut way back on other small animal cash crops as a result
Coturnix Quail
They take 14 days to hatch
They are ready to butcher and begin laying eggs as young as 6 weeks
The eggs are higher in protein and lower in cholesterol than chicken eggs
They take very little room compared to ducks or chickens, cage raised
Can be balcony raised in city apartment as a pet 3 hens to 1 roo ratio
Majority of eggs sold for oriental medicinal market, taken raw for hypertension, memory and libido
Cheap to feed
I have very few losses of chicks once past the brooder stage.
Butchering takes seconds per bird and cost effective

I think sheep are a reasonable choice if you are looking for some dairy. They are pretty similar to goats (With some nutritional exceptions), but if I remember correctly goat milk is naturally homogenized which means it is very difficult, nigh impossible, to create butter from? If you don't care about butter, then from there I guess it is whichever you prefer depending on preference of purpose. Also look into which breeds you might choose for any animal. I have some ducks and chickens and found that the Runner ducks lay many more eggs than the chickens, and start sooner/end later in the year. But the chickens I have are a mix of heavy breeds who are more suited for meat than eggs anyways, so it isn't always an equal comparison. You can usually find a good dual or tri-purpose breed depending on the animal and your needs.

The best animals are those you can feed for about free while still feeding your family.

Rabbits/ pigs/ geese/ cows/ sheep/ goats/ bees/too some extent quails/ ducks/ chickens

Start slow. We like our animals to as free as possible. Easier maintenance and no clean up. Builds soil and the animals are happy.

Please start with one type of animal at a time. Master this animal and then continue if u wish.

Don't name your animals. You can't eat your dog and I guarantee any named animal will taste like crap if u loved that animal. I still have a hard time eating my meat but my kids and wife do not. They grew up eating and processing meat. Boiled rabbit is a yummy supper to them. They will always be able to feed themselves if they choose to work for it.