Turkey gutted after bird is difficult (6)
I believe the answer is:
knotty
'difficult' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'turkey gutted after bird' is the wordplay.
'gutted' suggests removing the centre (to gut something is to remove its insides).
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'bird' becomes 'knot' (knot is a kind of bird).
'turkey' with its middle taken out is 'ty'.
'ty' after 'knot' is 'KNOTTY'.
'is' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for knotty that I've seen before include "Difficult (point)" , "Full of tangles; extremely intricate" , "Describing a difficult problem" , "Extremely difficult" , "Difficult to unravel" .)