Prehistoric Farm DNA Guide: Turn Fossils Into Eggs

What is DNA restoration, actually?

Despite the name, Prehistoric Farm has no DNA points, vials or meters. “DNA restoration” is the game’s flavor for the fossil-set-to-egg conversion at the DNA Lab, run by the NPC Dr. Ivy. Her intro line sets the scene: “I’m Dr. Ivy. I bring fossils back to life. Got any samples for me?”

The flow, verified against full playthrough footage:

1. Dig until the fossil menu shows “Ready to extract DNA” for one species (the Cambrian set is 6 fossils — see the digging guide).
2. Sail back to the home island and enter the DNA Lab.
3. Talk to Dr. Ivy and pick “Trade fossils for an egg”.
4. A short animation plays and a species egg appears.

That is the whole mechanic. No confirmed trade fee, no timed extraction bar, no numeric DNA values anywhere in the game’s UI.

Which fossils should you bring to Dr. Ivy?

Only complete sets convert. Bringing five of six Cambrian fossils does nothing — the prompt needs the finished set. Two practical rules:

• Never sell the last missing fossil. Duplicates sell for a few coins (about 5-10 per playthrough footage), but selling a set-completing fossil costs you an entire egg. The money guide prices out when selling spares is worth it.
• Check the tracker before sailing home. A wasted round trip is the most common time sink reported by new players; the fossil menu’s per-set counter is exact.

What happens after the trade?

Dr. Ivy’s egg is not instantly hatchable — it goes to the incubator first. Observed incubation timers run about 2:30-5:00 minutes (single-session observations, not a per-species table). When the countdown ends, collect the hatchling at the hatchery and place it on your ranch. The full incubation walkthrough is in the egg incubation guide, and keeping the hatchling fed is covered in the riding guide.

Does Update 1 change the DNA Lab?

No published patch notes document a change to the Dr. Ivy conversion flow. Update 1 (October 11-12) did add Raptor X content and mythic-rarity dinosaurs — the UPDATE1 redeem code even hands out a “Raptor X Remnant” item plus a Velociraptor Egg (grab it on the codes page) — but we will update this page and the update log as soon as the flow changes in-game. For what each set hatches into, browse the dinosaur list.