Of course, people have also used horses and ponies for all of those things (riding, draught, milk, meat, fiber, etc.)
They've also used camels, llamas, alpacas, yak, buffalo, and kine for all of those. And I'm sure others, too. (Okay, llamas and alpacas aren't traditionally dairy animals, but you get some milk, and you could probably get them there with a century or so of directed breeding.) Rabbits and chinchillas give meat and wool; dogs give meat, draught, fiber and defense (among other things)...
...so if I have to pick one as the best?
I'm actually leaning against sheep, because they're stupid, and they overgraze, and they need lots of supervision, and the main thing they're good for is creating a wool surplus; if you aren't planning to export wool, or swim in the stuff (which my isolated sub-tropical colony won't be) they don't really seem like the best choice. I could be wrong, though.
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They've also used camels, llamas, alpacas, yak, buffalo, and kine for all of those. And I'm sure others, too. (Okay, llamas and alpacas aren't traditionally dairy animals, but you get some milk, and you could probably get them there with a century or so of directed breeding.) Rabbits and chinchillas give meat and wool; dogs give meat, draught, fiber and defense (among other things)...
...so if I have to pick one as the best?
I'm actually leaning against sheep, because they're stupid, and they overgraze, and they need lots of supervision, and the main thing they're good for is creating a wool surplus; if you aren't planning to export wool, or swim in the stuff (which my isolated sub-tropical colony won't be) they don't really seem like the best choice. I could be wrong, though.