Hen Not Keeping Chicks Clean

Hey all. I bred budgies many years ago as a kid and never had problems with cleanliness of the chicks. I just restarted and this is my new pair's first clutch. 5 chicks and the eldest is 14 days old. Their claws and legs have been getting the hard build-up of feces and it feels like I'm torturing them to remove it. I didn't put in bedding because I was taught not to way back when and they all did great, but could adding pine shavings help with this problem or is this a hen problem no matter what I put in? And will she be more likely to not keep her chicks clean on future clutches? 

In the meantime, I have started to clean out the box and lay down paper towels, even though the youngest are still just hatchlings.