What would be the ideal animal or animals to keep if the SHTF?

Dogs for protection and friendship,Horses for transportation,Sheep for meat,dairy,oil and clothes,and chickens for meat and eggs ,and you are all set and ready to go on your own for ever if necessary....Of course there are always cool alternatives like Panthers,Rhinos,Worms and Bats which are perfectly all right,but i would personally rather go with the old reciepe.

Whichever one tastes the best

reply to post by r2d246


I am going to train a pack of attack badgers.

They will all be named Larry. It's going to be so cool.

reply to post by r2d246


I would get a bunch of monkeys......Just because I think it would be super cool to live in a post-apocalyptic tree-house with a bunch of monkeys all wearing little butler outfits, that could bring me coconuts and berries and such.

Also I'd have a jar full of Sea-Monkeys......just because!

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
Goats, rabbits chickens.

All will take care of themselves if they have to. All are hardy enough to survive year around even in sub zero winters with nothing more than an open sided roof to keep rain off them.

have to agree on the yard birds (chickens), i have 8, 4 Auzzies and 4 road island reds and they eat anything small enough to fit in their mouths. i get 8 eggs a day which will keep my wife, son and i alive without issue. winter will be tough for keeping livestock alive though, so some prudent planning is in order. i have hundreds of wild rabbits, ground hogs and squirrels around my property so that's a bonus.

everybody has been complaining about the wild hog population going crazy but to me it's a boon for peoples food needs as well.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned bees.
Out here, in the middle of nowhere, I keep goats, chickens, 3 horses, 4 dogs and 5 beehives. There is a (very) feral kitty here too...dont know where it came from. Between the cat, the 4 owls in the area and the hawks, the disease carrying, pantry raiding rodent population is kept in check.

Right now, I get my meat mostly from the market, (which is nearly 70 miles away) and each year I bag an antelope and an elk. There are many elk here, and lots of antelope below my mountain on the flats. In a SHTF scenario, game will be my meat source.
If you plan on having a garden, bees will increase your harvest as well as provide yummy honey and useful wax.

As far as over-hunting goes, I doubt that will be an issue in my location, as A. most folks around here are ranchers; B. I am more than a tank of gas from the nearest Metro area; and C. there are less than 500 people living within a 60 mile radius from me.

The most difficult animal to keep that I have are the horses. Their health needs, diet needs, care and maintenance is by far the biggest challenge. My dogs are the next biggest hassle. But the benefits far outweigh the demands for both.
Peace

reply to post by r2d246


Chickens.

reply to post by Elostone


ETA: And bees.

Pigs. They have large litters.
Plus when you train them right,the make great pack animals.

But,really,chickens are your best bet.

well,
we have a horse that can be used for many things
and if the $hit gets too deep.. well it will feed us for quite a while

Originally posted by mytheroy
Rats...have anywhere between 12-30 babies a month

I hear rat burgers are not that bad,

Okay so now you know how the global elitists feel. All these rats over breeding and no where to put them anymore. I think they forget they're rats too though ha ha.

An aggressive medium-to-large dog, and a cat that is a proven mouser. Dogs are pretty adaptable on food, but cats are not, so you should prepare them to be willing to accept non-commercial foods.

Guinea pigs.

In South America they are more common than chicken at the dinner table and taste pretty good. They have a rapid breeding cycle and feed on wild grasses, fruits, and vegetables.

chickens and rabbits for food and dogs for protection.