Chicken handlers do dire manoeuvres (5,6,3)
I believe the answer is:
rhode island red
'chicken' is the definition.
(Rhode Island red is an example)
'handlers do dire manoeuvres' is the wordplay.
'manoeuvres' indicates an anagram.
'handlers'+'do'+'dire'='handlersdodire'
'handlersdodire' with letters rearranged gives 'RHODE ISLAND RED'.
(Other definitions for rhode island red that I've seen before include "American Communist" , "New England communist" , "Chicken breed" , "Fowl" , "possible victim of battery" .)