Nugget, you're absolutely correct.

Most smallholders need to stick to small livestock: chickens, rabbits, ducks, goats. It's hard to beat chickens: eggs, manure, meat, self-foraging if you choose correctly, and they will eat almost anything in a pinch.

Large livestock simply eat too much -- either you need the land to support them, or you need to import feed. Not to mention if they get into your garden it's usually major devastation.

Again, working with your neighbors in a survival situation is the key. You can produce vegetables, a neighbor has fruit trees, another neighbor can produce chickens, yet another can keep rabbits, a larger property owner can maintain a few head of cattle, someone can keep goats, and you can all trade. It's nearly impossible to do it all yourself. There was a reason for big families in the old days: cheap help. (Also one of the reasons the lifespan was 47.) And they knew what they were doing, which mostly isn't the case these days.

Sue