The book I read to research this post was Living the Country Lifestyle All in One for Dummies by various authors which is an excellent book which I got from kindle. This book is about the traditional skills like spinning, knitting & traditional cookery. One of the things it looks at is keeping farm animals which I am going to write about. The list of working animals which means they are kept to supply things like meat or to do jobs ie pull a plough, anyway it's almost endless but there are a few that are the most popular.
Cattle can be pack animals or can provide meat and/or milk. It's worth looking at what's traditionally kept in your area & what local farmers are keeping. Some people with not much land keep mini cattle because they are more productive per acre.
Sheep are best for meat whilst lambs which is offputting to some people & the best meat comes from newborn ones. You may have to hire a sheep shearer can be quite expensive.
Goats produce excellent milk but the meat tends to need stewing especially from older ones & milk producing breeds.
Llamas can be used to carry a pack but their hooves can split if they carry a human but they produce wool which has to be combed out & they are cheap especially in the USA.
Horses are cheap to buy but expensive to look after. They also may need shoeing if used on hard ground or carry heavy loads.
Rabbits breed rapidly & can supply meat & skins & also supply as pets.
Chickens, turkey, geese & ducks can all be used to supply meat. In the case of chickens that are egg producers a light must be provided for at least 12 hours a day to maximize egg production.
Bees are good as farm animals & are quite productive at producing honey but a lot have been wiped out by a virus. Having said that your garden will be well pollinated.
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