1. A method comprises: identifying, by a device of a dispersed storage network (DSN), an encoded data slice requiring rebuilding; determining, by the device, whether the encoded data slice is part of a fan-out encoded data slice group; when the encoded data slice is part of the fan-out encoded data slice group: determining, by the device, whether a copy of a valid encoded data slice of the fan-out encoded data slice group is available; when a copy of the encoded data slice of the fan-out encoded data slice group is not available, rebuilding, by the device or another device, the encoded data slice to produce a rebuilt encoded data slice; storing, by a storage unit, the rebuilt encoded data slice; and creating, by the storage unit, one or more copies of the rebuilt encoded data slice to produce a rebuilt fan-out encoded data slice group.