Cooper12,
I would say they are alert as any other chicken that isn't crested. As for hawk protection, I don't think any of the hawks we have in this area are going to bother standard birds. We don't have issues with the bald eagles even though they are large enough to get standards. The last time I had a hawk issue was when I had silkies with big crests. They could not see and were always targeted even when our Caleb was around. Caleb was a 10.5lb cochin x wyandotte mix. Shoot, the hawks did not care if I was outside to make a swoop. I watched a hawk try to get a broody's babies nomoe than 20 feet away. Everybody including the head rooster at the time ran away and screamed bloody murder from the bushes except the broody mom. Crazy hen turned around and went straight to beat the hawk to the ground. No chicks were lost and no hawks were seen for a few years after that. LOL Rooster just chickened out and hen proved it is never a good idea to get between a mom and their children!
That said, what I did notice about the 4-5 hawk kills we have had in the past 15 years, is that they have all occurred against a fence. Once I removed fencing obstructions, they had a clear path into the bushes, sheds, carport, bramble, they were all able to run fast enough to hide. My birds live a rather rough and tumble hard knock life out here. They get all the food and water they can eat, a secure coop at night, but during the day, they are on their own. I call them streetwise, and to keep the rotating flock streetwise, I always keep at least 1 old hen around when I replace layers to show them the ropes.
As for bird colors, the silkies I lost to hawks were black and buff. My leghorns are small and white... but I think the wet PNW keeps them dirt colored enough to hide. LOL No, really though, they are so flighty that they are hard to catch by ground or sky.
no pressure though.
